Miracle
by ForeverSam
Summary: AU She's a dying girl, he's a rash orange haired teen. But he changes her world in ways she never thought possible, and gives her back a hope she thought she had long lost. Maybe there really is such a thing as a miracle IchiRuki
1. —Prologue— Sick

**Author's Note** – Gyah! Writing isn't a hobby for me, it's a drug! I kept saying over and over, 'I won't start this story, I _won't_'. But the idea kept bouncing, and bouncing, and...Gyah! Anyways...

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_**Title:** Miracle_

_**Rating:** T (For language and possible Adult Situations)_

_**Pairings:** Ichigo/Rukia, Byakuya/Hisana_

_**AU:**Uh huh!_

_**Summary:** She's a dying girl, he's a rash, idiotic orange-haired teen. But he changes her world in ways she never thought possible, and gives her back a hope she thought she had long lost. Maybe there really is such a thing as a miracle_

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**Story Note:** As this is an AU, I'm changing things a little; Byakuya and Hisana are going to be Rukia's parents, instead of her siblings. That's 'cause in every other AU I've written (all of which are currently collecting dust in their respective folders on my desktop), I've had to come up with gruesome ways to kill of Rukia's parents, and I'm tired of it. So Byakuya and Hisana are taking the position this time (don't worry, I'm not going to kill them). Okay, okay, enough of me, on with the story

* * *

**Miracle**

_By: ForeverSam_

* * *

**Miracle – Prologue**

"What if something really _is_wrong with her? I don't think I could stand it if we lost her, Byakuya"

Eight-year-old Kuchiki Rukia froze, her hand on the doorknob of her parents' room. Her violet eyes widened in surprise. "You can't keep thinking like that, Hisana. It's probably just a touch of flu, it's nothing to worry about-"

"She's been sick _all summer_," Rukia's mother, Kuchiki Hisana, insisted, "I'm not saying I want something to be wrong, but...what if it is?"

"What if it isn't?" Kuchiki Byakuya countered in his quiet voice, "Then you'd bee worrying and making yourself sick for nothing"

"I know, I know," there was a lull in the conversation. Rukia closed her eyes and bit her lip, willing herself not to cry. She hadn't meant to scare her parents so much, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't _her_fault she was sick.

It had started at the beginning of the summer, just after the end of second grade. Rukia had been getting all kinds of stomach aches, and her throat hurt a lot too. At first her parents said it was just a "summer cold" (whatever that was), but after a month she still felt sick, and she got fevers and threw up a lot. Finally her parents had decided it was time to see a doctor. They'd gone that day. The doctor had said it would take about twenty-four hours to get the tests back. Rukia had been a bit dissapointed when they left. She had always thought doctors could make everything better right away. That was how it had always been before.

Now it was almost midnight. Rukia had been asleep, up until about five minutes before, when an upset stomach pulled her out of her already fitful sleep. She'd laid in bed for a few moments, trying to figure out whether or not she wanted to actually move, or just let herself fall back to sleep. Then she remembered that her mother had told Rukia to say something if she felt sick, so she'd decided to go and see if her parents were awake, and had been on her way to her their room, when when she heard her them talking, and stopped. "I know you're scared," Byakuya spoke finally, "I am too. But we can't think about the worst scenario. I'm sure Rukia will be fine"

Now, normally Rukia wasn't a crier. She had established that fact well in school, letting it be known throughout her class that, despite her size, she was not a force to be reckoned with (a few kids learned that the hard way). But as she listened to her father and mother speak, Rukia couldn't hold back the tears. They were worried, they were scared, and it was all her fault. She hated thinking that she was causing them to worry.

"I know she will," Rukia could almost _hear_Hisana's smile, "Rukia's a strong girl, I know she is. But she's still young..."

"She's a fighter," it was the simple way Byakuya spoke that seemed reassure Hisana, and even Rukia felt a little comforted, despite the fact the words hadn't been meant for _her_. "Whatever it is, she'll fight. It's the way she is. Just like her mother"

Rukia reached up, rubbed the tears from her eyes, and finally brought herself around to opening the door. "Mommy, Daddy?" she whispered as she stepped in. She hadn't referred to her parents like that since she had started kindergarten. But this felt like the right moment for it.

"Rukia," Hisana, who had been laying down in bed, sat up at once, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"I don't feel good," the little girl muttered, suddenly feeling guilty over eavesdropping on her parents' conversation. Hisana, however, noticed nothing of that, and gestured for Rukia to come up onto the bed.

"Come here, Rukia," she crawled up on the bed and into her mother's arms. Hisana wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter, "What's wrong?"

"My stomach feels funny," Rukia murmured, nestling against Hisana, who was gently stroking Rukia's black hair. She didn't see her mother and father exchange worried glances, "And my head hurts. My throat hurts too. Mommy, why can't the doctor give me medicine to make it better? That's what he did the last time I was sick"

"The doctor doesn't know what's wrong, Rukia," Hisana said soothingly, "That's why they took the blood tests, remember?" Rukia nodded, allowing her hand to drift up to the bunny band-aid on her left arm, where the doctor had drawn the blood. The girl shuddered, remembering the needle; she hated needles. "They'll know tomorrow though, and then they'll be able to give you medicine. And then you'll be all better"

"In time to go back to school?"

"In time to go back to school," what a shame. She'd been sick all summer, and now she was going to better for school. How typical. Rukia pouted a little as she thought about this. Talk about a wasted summer.

"You should go back to bed, Rukia," Byakuya said after a few minutes, "If you're sick, you need your rest"

Rukia nodded, then suddenly found she didn't want to leave the comfort and protection of her mother's arms. When she had been really little, those same arms had wrapped themselves around her when she had nightmares, comforting her. And even though she hadn't had a nightmare this time, she still felt like she needed the comfort. Hisana, sensing this, said in a low voice, "Do you want to stay here for tonight, Rukia?"

Rukia's lips twitched into a small smile, and she nodded. Hisana looked over at Byakuya, who nodded as well and reached over, switching off the lamp that had been supplying light to the room. The three were plunged into darkness. Rukia slipped under the covers and leaned her head against her mother's chest, content now. "Mommy, Daddy?"

"Yes Rukia?"

"I love you"

"We love you too, sweetie"

Rukia fell off to sleep almost at once. When she woke up the next morning she felt, if it were possible, worse than she had before. She coughed as she sat up; her throat felt so scratchy. "How do you feel?" Rukia was surprised to see that her mother was still laying in bed with her; usually Hisana and Byakuya were both very early risers. But Hisana, it seemed, had felt guilty about leaving her daughter while she was sick.

"Yucky," Rukia muttered, leaning back against her mother's warm body, "Mommy, how much longer, until the doctor knows what's wrong?"

"Not long, hopefully," Hisana ran a gently hand through Rukia's raven hair, and at that moment, the phone on the small table next to the bed rang. "Well what do you know, maybe that's him now," Hisana reached over and grabbed the phone off the hook, bringing it to her ear. "Hello? Yes, this is she..."

Rukia rolled over and looked at her mother. Hisana's eyes were narrowing as she listened to whoever was on the other end speak, and Rukia bit her lip. Suddenly, her mother's eyes widened in surprise and fear. "Oh...God...Are you sure?...I see...yes, I see...I will...yes, okay...thank you. Good bye"

Rukia swallowed with great difficulty as she watched her mother hang up the phone. "Mommy?" she whispered, not sure if she could bring herself to speak louder, "What is it? Was that the doctor?"

Hisana nodded. Rukia could tell she was struggling to keep her face blank. She wasn't succeeding. "That was the doctor, Rukia"

Rukia sat up again, looking up at her mother with wide eyes. "Well?"

Hisana reached an arm over, and wrapped it around the girl's small shoulders. "Rukia...this is so hard, I don't know what to tell you, exactly," now Rukia was afraid, and she had no problem showing it, "It's...Rukia. The doctors think...you're not going to get better"

Rukia blinked, confused. "What?"

Hisana sighed. She wasn't explaining this very well. "You remember your friend, Renji, right?" Rukia nodded, "Do you remember his father? His father was very sick, do you remember what he had?"

Rukia tried to think. That had been a few years ago. "Cancer. I think," suddenly realization hit her, and her small body began to shake. Hisana, sensing that her daughter had figured it out, pulled Rukia into a tight hug. "M-Mommy? Am I going to...to die, like Renji's father?"

Hisana was at a loss as to how to answer this. Rukia pushed herself away, looking up at her mother with wide eyes, waiting for an answer she couldn't give. Hisana closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"No, Rukia," she whispered at last. But Rukia knew she was lying.

* * *

**Author's Note** – I wasn't sure how to do the part at the end; how do you tell an eight-year-old she has cancer? It was hard. But anyways...that's the prologue. Next is chapter 1, which takes place about...ten years into the future. There will also be some Ichigo-ness in the chapter, so stay tuned! 5-10 reviews saying I should continue would be nice, otherwise I'll bury this story in the "Graveyard of Forgotten Stories" (AKA my desktop). Review! – Sam 


	2. 1 — New

**Miracle – I**

Eighteen-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo ran a hand through his spiky orange hair as he slung his school bag over his shoulder and made his way down the street to Karakura High School. This was his last year. Last year of being trapped at a small desk for eight hours and listening to teachers drone on about things that really didn't matter one way or another to him.

He was finally a Senior. All he could really say to that was _thank God_

"Oi, Ichigooo!" he looked around and stepped out of the way just in time for his best friend, Asano Keigo, to go flying past. The hyperactive boy crashed into the sidewalk, and Ichigo rolled his eyes; it was a miracle Asano had _lived_ to see Senior year. "So!" Keigo, of course, recovered instantly, "It's all over after this year! Can't believe it, feels like we just...oh, I can't do it!"

Ichigo sighed heavily as he walked through the gates of the school. There was a group of girls standing just outside the entrance. Ichigo caught small snippets of their conversation as he passed. "And she's so _thin, _have you seen her?"

"No, but I heard she'd be back for this year," Ichigo made a face. Who the hell could they be talking about?

"Oi, Asano," Keigo bounded to Ichigo's side at once.

"What's up?"

"Are their any new students this year?" for some reason Keigo was well informed about these things. Ichigo had never questioned why.

"Er...not that I know of," Keigo made a face and tapped his head, clearly thinking hard, "Wait, wait...there's one...but she's not really new...I dunno, it's weird, she's new, in a way, but she's been here before-"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. Obviously he wasn't going to get an answer, so instead he started off for homeroom. He didn't pay any attention to where he was going, however, until he walked into someone. "Oh, damn, sorry," he grumbled as he stood up. He looked around to see who he had walked into. And his amber eyes widened in shock.

It was a girl, a small girl. Ichigo guessed she was from the new class. But that wasn't what surprised him. It wasn't even her wide, oddly violet eyes that got him. It was how _frail _she looked, how sickly, that really got to him. "Er...you okay?" he reached out a hand to help her up. She stared at it for a second, then stood up on her own.

"No, I'm fine thank you," she had an amazingly strong voice. Ichigo blinked.

"Um...okay. I'm-"

"Do you know where Class 3-A is?" the question took Ichigo by surprise.

"Yeah, it's just down the hall...but that's a Senior homeroom," it was _his _homeroom, actually.

"What's your point?" and she walked away, leaving Ichigo feeling utterly confused. It wasn't until the warning bell rang, telling everyone to go to class, that he scurried off, making it to homeroom just before the final bell rang. He noticed that his classmates were all muttering behind their hands, and couldn't help but wonder what was going on. He sat down, still feeling confused, and barely noticed who was sitting next to him.

"Welcome back!" the teacher walked in, smiling, trying to get them all in the mood for school. Seventeen stony faces stared back at her. "Ah well then..." she shrugged, "Look at it this way, this is the last time you'll be dealing with me. Is that better?" a cheer went through the room. "I thought so. Oh, and I would also like to welcome back Kuchiki Rukia. We're all very glad you can be with us again," she nodded in the direction of the person next to Ichigo, and he looked around, receiving a slight shock; it was the girl he had seen in the hall. _She's a _Senior?!

The girl – Rukia – smiled, almost sadly, and nodded in recognition of the teacher's greeting. "It's...good to be back"

Ichigo made a face, confused. He couldn't recall ever seeing her before in his life, much less in his homeroom. Had she really been here before?

Ichigo looked Rukia over again. If he had heard her speak before he saw her, his mind would have conjured images of a strong, tall girl with a look that said 'mess with me and you're a dead man'.

But Rukia was none of those things. She was pale and thin and sickly looking, her wide violet eyes drawn and weary. Despite the fact that she was incredibly short, her facial features gave off the sense that she was older, more mature than her real age. Ichigo squirmed in his seat, suddenly desperate to know more about this girl.

"Kuchiki Rukia," Ichigo flung the name at Keigo during lunch.

"Yeah, she's hot isn't she?" Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"What's her story, you moron?"

"Oh, that," Keigo took a sip of his soda, a thoughtful look on his face, "Well, let's see, she's lived in Karakura Town all her life, her parents are Kuchiki Byakuya and Kuchiki Hisana...um, she hasn't been in school for the last year because she was in the hospital..."

"She was in the _hospital_?" Ichigo repeated in disbelief, "For _what_?"

Keigo shrugged. "Not sure. Must have been pretty serious though"

"No shit," Ichigo muttered. Had the girl really spent the last _year _in the hospital? What in the world for?

"Anyways," Keigo was talking again, "Why are you so interested, Ichigo? You must know Kuchiki-san, after all, she's been in our class since we started at Karakura High"

Ichigo didn't feel right, admitting that he didn't remember ever seeing the girl before in his life. But he said it anyway. "I have difficulties putting names with faces"

"That's true," Keigo smirked as he sipped at his soda again. Then, "Do you think she'd go out with me?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and took a bite of his sandwich. "Asano, you're a moron, you know that right?"

"Is that a 'no, she wouldn't go out with you'?"

Ichigo didn't even bother responding. The truth was, no, he didn't think the girl ever _would _go out with Keigo. He didn't know much about her, but he could tell Keigo wasn't her type. The orange-haired teen wasn't dumb enough to say that though; it would have led to a lot of whining for the rest of the lunch period. So instead he kept his mouth shut, puzzling over why a girl would spend an entire freaking school year in the hospital. It seemed so odd.

"A _year_?" Kurosaki Isshin repeated, "Well, there are plenty of reasons..."

It was later that day, after school. Ichigo, desperate for answers, took his questions to his father, who ran a local clinic. If anyone would know something about reasons to spend so much time in a hospital, it was Isshin. "Does she have any kind of disabilities?"

"Not unless you count shortness," Ichigo scoffed, smirking slightly. Isshin made a face.

"I thought you were serious about this," Ichigo's smirk faded. He _was _curious, though he wasn't completely sure _why. _What did some girl who might or might not be new have to do with him, after all? But all the same, he was curious.

"I am. You know, it's weird, but..." Ichigo considered whether or not to admit this, "She's been in my class since I started at Karakura High, that's what Keigo said anyway. But I've never seen her before in my life"

"What's this girl's name, anyway?"

"Kuchiki Rukia"

Isshin nodded. "I see. And she really spent the last school year in the hospital?"

"That's what Asano said," Ichigo sighed as he took a sip of the soda he had gotten out of the fridge, "Maybe it's nothing, really. Maybe she just...broke her leg really badly. Or something. I'm sure it's nothing though. But thanks anyways, Dad"

"Hey," Isshin called after his son, "If you like this girl so much, get her phone number!"

Ichigo didn't even bother answering

* * *

Rukia sighed as she dropped onto the couch. One day of school, and already she felt completely exhausted. "Rukia!" her mother, Kuchiki Hisana, called from the kitchen, "Come in here, it's time for your medicine!"

Rukia scowled slightly as she stood up again and dragged herself to the kitchen. She knew full well it was time for her pills, but jeez, couldn't a girl get a moment's rest? "How was school?" Hisana asked as her daughter entered the room. Rukia just shrugged as she grabbed her pill bottle off the turn table in the middle of the kitchen table and carefully dumped out two pills. "Did you meet anyone interesting?" Hisana pushed. Rukia just shrugged again as she grabbed a glass and poured some water. "Do you know how to do anything besides shrug?"

"School was a nightmare, all right?!" Rukia snapped finally, losing her patience. She couldn't help it, she was tired. "Everyone treated me like a freak. They knew I spent the last year in the hospital, and they didn't know why, and that made them treat me even worse, like I had some kind of terrible disease or something!"

"Don't raise your voice to your mother," Kuchiki Byakuya walked into the kitchen at that moment. Rukia scowled for a moment before popping the pills in her mouth and sipping some water. Byakuya waited until she swallowed to say, "And you were in the hospital for your own good, you know that Rukia"

Rukia felt the anger drain from her body, and dropped into one of the kitchen chairs, feeling defeated. "I know, I know. But still...the way they treated me today was the worst. I don't want to go through that again"

"Would you rather you got sick again?" Rukia winced. She'd spent the last year in the hospital because of her own stupidity, really. In a rebellious streak, she'd stopped taking her medicine, maybe just to prove that she didn't need it. That went quite badly, of course. She hadn't made it through three days of her Junior year (she'd stopped in the middle of the summer) before she was being put back in the hospital. Her parents had been _far _from happy. Rukia wasn't sure she'd ever seen either her mother or father that angry before. And she _certainly _didn't want to see it again.

"No," Rukia muttered finally, knowing this wasn't going to be an argument she would win. Byakuya looked at her for a second, then left the kitchen for his study. Hisana looked between her daugher and her husband.

"Rukia, we only act this way because-"

"You care," Rukia sighed, "I know"

* * *

Author's Note: Now, let's get one thing straight; it is not usually my style to update so soon. But I got such good feedback on the prologue, and I wanted to see if I could get it as good with this one. So what do you think? Like most first chapters, it was just an introduction, but feedback is still nice. So...between 30 and 40 reviews, okay? Just say something, "good story", "Keep it up", "I'll kill you in your sleep for impersonating a writer" any of that is okay. So yeah, review! - Sam 


	3. 2 — Dreams to be Normal

**Miracle - II**

Rukia could deal with rumors, really. After all, rumors were really just what some people thought about others. And Rukia could have cared _less _what people thought of her. But the rumors...they killed her, really. Some of the things people were saying really got to her.

No one actually _knew _she had leukemia. It was a secret she'd worked hard to keep safe. When she'd started on the chemo, she had been out of school for about three months. She'd filled in her absence by saying she'd gone away for a family thing. And during that family thing, one of her cousins got his hands on a pair of scissors and chopped off all of Rukia's hair. She was proud of the story, really; it was pretty good, for an eight-year-old. But her stories only went so far. And she had absolutely no excuses as to why she had been out for an entire school year, and that had sent the rumors a-flying.

If Rukia had to pick a favorite of the rumors she heard going around, she probably would have said, "I heard she went back-packing across Europe over the summer, and while she was there she met a boy, and they got married, but when her parents found out they forced her to come home"

As far as rumors went, that wasn't a bad one. Her least favorite, however, was probably, "Well _I _heard she started taking drugs over the summer, and her parents were so ashamed of it they had her locked up in a rehabilitation center"

As far as rumors went, that was probably the worst one she had heard. There were others, of course, ranging from small things such as "family matters" to the thing about the drugs. And unfortunately, there was nothing she could about the rumors without revealing the truth behind her disappearance. And she'd never do that.

Still, though, it was annoying when she suddenly walked into a room and people who had been whispering behind their hands suddenly stopped and looked up at her like she was from another planet.

"I can't take it!" she blew up finally. It was lunchtime during the fifth day of school. Rukia had just walked over to a group of girls, which included one of her oldest friends, Imko Miyako. They had been talking in low voices until Rukia had approached them. Then they had stopped.

"H-Hi Rukia," Miyako said, her voice shaking slightly, "I mean...what's up?"

"What's with all of you?" Rukia ignored the greeting, "Everytime I come near you people, all you do is stop talking and stare at me like I'm from Mars or something!"

"It's...nothing Rukia," Miyako said after a second. Rukia noted that she was the only one talking. "It's just...weird, ya know? You weren't here last year, at all – I mean, you were here for three days, but after that you disappeared. And now you're back and well...to be honest, you look different"

That didn't surprise Rukia. She'd always been a naturally small and thin person. But between the medication, and the chemo she'd been on, it had basically killed her looks completely. Not that Rukia cared. But it was obvious everyone else did. "I know I was gone for awhile...it's a health thing"

This sent the girls into a muttering frenzy. Rukia finally lost her patience completely. "Forget it!" she raged angrily, whirling around, "Just forget it!"

She stormed away. Just as she was about to enter the school again Miyako caught up and grabbed Rukia by the arm and dragged her around to the back of school. "Let me-"

"Just give me a chance, Rukia," Miyako cut in, "Look, we've been friends for a long time, and we've dealt with a lot together. But...for a long time now...I feel as if you've been locking me out. I don't really know when it started, I guess back in third grade, but it was so small I didn't even notice. But after the last year...with you just basically disappearing off the face of the earth...and now you won't tell me about it...you're locking me out, Rukia. We've helped each other through a lot, but now it's like you're keeping secrets. Let me in Rukia. I miss our old friendship"

Rukia stared blankly at Miyako, unsure of what to say. It was true, the two girls _had _been through a lot together. They'd known each other since they were three and slept next to each other in daycare. They'd gotten each other through everything, from Rukia's broken leg when she was five, to the death of Miyako's boyfriend, Kaien, when they had been fourteen. But Miyako was right; Rukia _had _been locking her out. But Rukia couldn't help it. She didn't want anyone to know about her. She didn't want sympathy or awkward questions. She just wanted to be _normal_. "Rukia, let me in. Please"

"Miyako," Rukia whispered, blinking back tears. She tilted her head towards the ground, her black hair framing her face, "I...I want to. Really I do. I'd give anything to be able to just come clean with you. But I can't. I'm sorry"

"I thought we were friends"

"We are," Rukia said desperately, "But Miyako...you wouldn't understand"

"Since when wouldn't your best friend understand?" Rukia was saved by the bell ringing. She darted off to class before Miyako could ask anymore questions

* * *

"Rukia, what in the world are you doing?" Rukia, who had been burrowing around in her closet, peeked out. Her mother was standing in the door, looking somewhere between, amused, confused, and disapproving. She hated it when Rukia "over-worked herself".

"I'm looking for my old scrapbook. Have you seen it?"

"Why in the world do you want it?"

Rukia shrugged and muttered something about 'personal reasons' before going back to digging through her closet. By chance she looked up, and saw it teetering on the shelf. "Aha!" she stood up on her tip-toes, reaching for the book.

"Rukia, I don't think-"

_Crash!_

The book, along with a cascade of junk, came crashing down onto Rukia's head. "Rukia!" Hisana gasped, moving to her daughter's side at once, "Are you okay?"

"Uh huh," Rukia blinked a few times to clear her vision (stars had popped up in her eyes), then bent down to grab her scrapbook. She walked over to her bed and flopped down, flipping through it. She and Miyako had made these when they were in first grade.

"Did you take your medicine when you got home?" Rukia rolled her eyes.

"_Yes _Mom," the younger girl paused on the page with the pictures. There was one of three little kids, all around the same age – three – sitting in a sand-box; Rukia, grinning up at the camera as she showed off her sand castle, Miyako, who was digging a hole that she claimed would make it all the way to America, and a boy who was taller than both girls, with spiky red hair. He was grinning as he showed off the pile of sand he had made. "Hey Mom, can I call Renji?"

"What's with the sudden trip down memory lane?" Hisana asked curiously.

"I found out today I only have two weeks to live"

"_Rukia_!" Rukia winced.

"Sorry Mom," she muttered, looking down at the carpeted floor, "I don't know why, really. Can I call Renji or not?"

Rukia expected a no after what she had said, but Hisana nodded. As Rukia bustled down to the kitchen, she could have sworn she saw tears in Hisana's eyes, and she felt guilty; sometimes, when Rukia was bitter, she made stupid jokes like that, but she knew they upset her mother.

Rukia tapped her foot impatiently as she leaned against the counter, phone pressed against her ear. Finally, "Hello?"

Rukia tried to sound upbeat. "Hi! Is Renji there?"

"Rukia!" Abarai-san sounded over-joyed, "Of course, just a second – Renji, phone! Oh Rukia, how are you? We haven't heard from you in awhile, we were worried. I talked to your mother a few months ago, she said you were in the hospital again-"

Rukia had to struggle not to be impatient, "Yeah, minor complication, all better now though"

"Mom, give me the phone!" a voice on the other end whined suddenly.

"Go away Renji, I'm talking"

"_Mom_!" Rukia laughed. There was a scuffling noise on the other end, then Abarai-san came back on.

"Rukia, I have to go – Renji's pulling the phone away – it was nice to hear from you again, bye – Renji!"

A second later, a male voice said, "Hey Rukia!"

And Rukia grinned. "Hey loser, forget how to use a phone?"

"Back atcha," Abarai Renji laughed good naturedly, "How ya feeling?"

Rukia groaned. "_Please_, Renji, for once I want to have a converstaion that's _not _about me and my health, all right?"

Renji picked up the hint at once and started going on about absolutely nothing. After about five minutes, Rukia broke in to say, "You found a girlfriend yet?"

There was silence. Usually Renji got pissed off when Rukia said something like that. Rukia blinked. "You...found a girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Renji said quickly.

"Oh yes she is!" Abarai-san piped up from the background.

"No, she isn't!" Renji protested; Rukia could almost _hear _his scowl, "She's just a friend, her name's Matsumoto Rangiku-"

"And you just _happened _to go to a couple school dances with her?"

"Aw, how cute!" Rukia chirped, "Renji's in love!"

"Oh shut up," Renji grumbled, "Both of you. I'm surrounded my psychos"

"But you know you love us," Rukia said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Renji made a gagging noise on the other end, and Rukia just had to laugh again. She loved talking to Renji, he was good at making her problems go away.

"Rukia," she looked around. Her mother was standing in the doorway. "Don't you think you've been talking long enough?"

"We've only been talking for ten minutes!" Rukia protested, "Mom, please-"

"Why don't you tell Renji you have to go?" Rukia scowled angrily.

"Renji, I have to hang up now"

"Aw, why? Wait, your mom? Or dad?"

"First one," Renji sighed.

"All right. Talk to you later?"

"Unless some disaster comes up, definitely," Rukia didn't bother to keep the annoyance out of her voice this time, "Bye Renji"

"See ya Rukia," Rukia hung up, fuming.

"What's the big deal about _talking _on the _phone_?" she asked, knowing full well if her father was around she would have gotten in trouble for speaking that way, "It's not like I was actually _doing _anything!"

"I'm sorry, Rukia," Hisana said with a sigh, "But I want to talk to you," Rukia started to say something sarcastic, but before she could, Hisana held up a small pill bottle. Rukia's pills. Rukia winced.

"You er...counted them?" it was an annoying habit Hisana and Byakuya had taken up when they found out Rukia had stopped taking her pills. They'd count them after she said she took them, just make sure she wasn't lying.

"You told me you took them Rukia"

"I forgot," it was the truth. She'd gotten home, so eager to find her scrapbook, that she hadn't stopped to worry about her pills. She figured she could just take them after she found the book. But she hadn't counted on her mother coming hme _before_ she found what she was looking for.

"_Rukia_-"

"I'm sorry," Rukia said at once, "I got home, I wasn't thinking I just ran right upstairs...I was gonna take them as soon as I found my scrapbook though. Look, here-"

She took the bottle from her mother and dumped out two pills, then grabbed a cup, poured some water into it, and popped the pills into her mouth, quickly sipping the water. "See? I didn't mean to forget, it just happened"

Hisana didn't look at all satisfied. "Rukia. Do you know why your father and I act the way we do?"

"Because...you care?"

"Exactly," Hisana ignored the sarcasm, "Rukia, you're all we have. If something happened to you...we couldn't handle it. We just want what's best for you"

Rukia sighed. "I know. I'm sorry"

And she was too. But sometimes, she would have given anything to just be...normal

* * *

Author's Note: I can assure you, this chapter was written for the soul purpose of throwing a little torture Rukia's way. Honestly, I had fun, but what do you guys think/pokes reader/ come ooon, you know you wanna review...please? I'll give ya a cookie. Chocolate chip. Please review though? Something between 50-65, maybe higher (depending on how nice you people are). - Sam 

PS- Remember; cookies!


	4. 3 — Her Protector

**Miracles – III**

Ichigo ran an annoyed hand through his hair as he walked into his house. Another day, another portion of his life completely wasted. "Someday I'll regret all the time I spend in that place," he grumbled, "I don't learn anything _useful, _and it's my Senior year..."

"Hi Ichi-nii!" Yuzu chirped. The smell of fresh cookies wafted from the kitchen. Ichigo walked in and grabbed a cookie off the plate on the counter. "Hey!" Yuzu slapped his hand with the cooking spoon, "No cookies until after dinner"

Ichigo huffed, annoyed, "Come on!" he whined, "Just gimme one"

"Are you eighteen or eight?" Karin asked as she walked into the kitchen. Ichigo scowled in his sister's direction, then looked back at Yuzu.

"Just one"

Yuzu gave in. "All right, _one_"

Ichigo grabbed one, and Karin did at the same time. "Now who's eight?"

"At least I wasn't whining"

Ichigo grumbled under his breath and continued to munch on the cookie. "So what do you guys want for supper?" Yuzu asked as she pulled another batch of cookies out of the oven. Karin and Ichigo both shrugged, and Yuzu pouted. "You guys have no minds of your own, do you?" the young girl asked as she started going through the cabinets, "How about chicken and rice?"

"Hey, where's Dad?" how Ichigo missed his father's annoying presence in the first place was beyond the orange-haired teen.

"Meeting," Yuzu said, "He said this morning he probably wouldn't be home until nine or so. But he told me to tell you...um..."

She looked confused. "Tell me what?" Ichigo prompted.

"Well...he said something...about telling you to invite someone to dinner...a girl, I think..."

Ichigo silently promised that he would kick his dad in the face as soon as he walked in the door. Scowling, he reached out to grab another cookie. Yuzu slapped his hand again.

"No more until after dinner!"

* * *

"Where's Dad?" Rukia asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"He's working late again," Hisana said as she spooned some rice into a bowl, "Things have been...well, tight, the last year, he missed a lot of work, and money..."

Rukia sat down at the table, feeling guilty. Hisana, picking up on her daughter's feelings, said, "I didn't mean it like that, Rukia. You know I didn't. Your father would do anything if it meant helping you, don't take it the wrong way"

"I'm not," it was so completely obvious that she was. Hisana sighed as she set two bowls down on the kitchen table.

"Don't worry about it Rukia, just come and eat, all right?"

"I'm not hungry," Rukia muttered. But Hisana gave the girl a stern look.

"You have to eat"

Defeated, Rukia sat down at the table. The dinner was mostly silent, until finally Hisana couldn't take it anymore. "So how's school going?"

"Okay," Rukia didn't dare mention that some of the kids had pegged her as a weakling, and had been harassing her off and on for the last week. She knew it would send Hisana into a panic.

"Classes going okay? You don't feel too behind?"

"After Ishida-kun's tutoring? I feel too far _ahead_," when Hisana and Byakuya had found out Rukia would probably miss most of the school year, they'd worried about her falling behind and being held back. One of the nurses, Ishida Orihime, had told Rukia's parents about a program the hospital had, for kids like Rukia who had to spend long parts of the school year in the hospital. And Ishida-san's husband, Ishida Uryu, happened to be one of the tutors in the program. He'd worked a lot with Rukia throughout her stay in the hospital, getting work from school and work of his own. He was really very smart, though most of the time Rukia didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about.

"That's such a nice program the hospital has, isn't it?" Hisana was speaking again, "I was glad Ishida-san mentioned it to us, I think she's taken a liking to you Rukia, over the last ten years..."

"Well when a person's constantly in and out of the hospital, they start to like you a little," Rukia didn't even bother hiding the bitterness in her tone. Hisana easily picked up on her daughter's tone. She was sensitive like that.

"Well, hopefully your last visit will last you awhile," she said with an air of wanting to change the subject. Rukia obliged.

"Yeah, maybe. Look, I don't feel too good, can I go lay down?"

"What's wrong?" Hisana's airy tone was gone at once, replaced with one of worry.

"Nothing," Rukia said in what she hoped was a half-way soothing voice, "I just...maybe I'm catching a cold or something"

Hisana looked down at Rukia's bowl. "You hardly ate anything"

"I told you, I'm not really hungry," Hisana and Rukia looked at each for a second, and finally the former gave in.

"All right, go lay down," Rukia, feeling just a bit on the side of triumphant, stood up and walked upstairs. She hadn't been lying; for the past couple of days she _had _felt a little...iffy. She hadn't planned on mentioning to her mother – she figured it was probably just a cold, after all – but if it got her out of a mother-daughter confrontation...

Sighing, the girl collapsed onto her bed. She was tired, but it was only a little after six. Oh well. She didn't even bother to change into her pajamas or crawl under the covers before falling asleep.

* * *

Ichigo shoved his left hand into his pocket and slung his bag over his right shoulder. Another day, another small portion of his life about to be wasted. Why couldn't he just _graduate _already and get it over with?

"Hey, stop it – leave me alone!" the angry voice reached Ichigo's ears the second he entered the school building. It was a female voice, and it was vaguely familiar...

"Just hand over your freakin' money, shrimp," a gruff voice answered the angry one, "Come on, we don't wanna hurt you, right?"

"Right," said a second voice, "Just be easy, midget-"

"_Don't_ call me a _midget_," the first voice snapped. A second later there was a howl of pain. Ichigo, curious now, moved quickly through the halls, and, upon turning around a corner, found himself facing an odd sight indeed; two Seniors, Ikkaku and Kenpachi, were facing off with the tiny Kuchiki Rukia. Well, Kenpachi was facing off with her anyway; Ikkaku was on the floor, clutching his shin, which Rukia had apparently just nailed.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that..." now, Rukia was obviously stronger than she looked. But Kenpachi was _huge._ Rukia would never be able to take _him_...

"Oi," Ichigo stepped in between Rukia and Kenpachi, "What's going on, Zaraki?"

"Just trying to teach the little shrimp some respect," Kenpachi growled, "Move aside, Kurosaki. Or don't, I'll just deal with you first"

"Back off," Ichigo said threateningly, "And leave Kuchiki alone, got it?"

"Or what?" Kenpachi shot back. Ichigo jerked his thumb at Ikkaku.

"See him?"

"What 'bout 'im?"

"He looks better than you will when I'm through; you'll be unconscious," Kenpachi glared down at Ikkaku.

"I'm not afraid of you Kurosaki"

"I don't expect you to be, but back off anyway"

After a second Kenpachi bent down, grabbed Ikkaku, and hauled him up. "This isn't over," he glared at Ichigo and Rukia once more before walking away.

"Hey, you-" was as far as Ichigo got. As soon as he turned around, the flat of a small hand connected with his head; Rukia had slapped him. "What the hell?!" he raged, "Is that how you thank someone who just _saved _your sorry ass?!"

"I didn't _need _you to save me!" she shot back, "You should have just minded your own business!"

"Zaraki would have flattened you!"

"I wasn't afraid of him"

"In that case you're just an idiot"

"You weren't afraid of him either, does that make you an idiot?" Ichigo blinked. Damn. She had him there.

"Oh...shut up," Rukia smirked.

"So, you know me, who are you? Wait, let me guess. Kurosaki Ichigo, right?" _now _Ichigo was surprised.

"You know me?"

"We were in the same class when we started here. You kind of stand out, you know, the hair and all," Ichigo was feeling dumber by the minute. So she knew him. Talk about being a fool. He could practically feel the word being etched across his forehead.

"Oh. I see. I don't...er..."

"You don't remember me?" she supplied him with the words.

"Er..." now he was just embarrassed, "I have trouble putting names with faces. It's nothing against you, really-"

"It's okay, I'm used to it," she assured him, "I kind of...made it that way. I like hiding in the shadows, you know? Keeps me safe"

"Safe from what?" he didn't know

"Safe from...everything. People, emotions...all of it," the depth of the answer really surprised Ichigo, though he couldn't help but feel a little put off by it. Why did she want to be safe from things like that? What was she hiding?

"You've thought a lot about this, huh?" she nodded, her eyes focused on the linoleum floor. "You know...people aren't really that bad, once you get to know them. Those two thugs you just dealt with don't set a great example, but..."

"You're not one to preach, Kurosaki," she smirked slightly, her violet eyes shining with a sort of mischief, "You don't exactly enjoy the company of people yourself. I see you, always looking for an escape. I bet you understand what I'm saying a lot more than you're letting on"

Ichigo scowled a bit at that. She was obviously a very observant girl. "Well, yeah, I mean...you don't seem like the kind of person...I mean, you don't seem like me"

Her smirk became an almost sad smile, "You're right. I'm not like you. You have a lot more going for you. I have nothing going for me"

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head. "You wouldn't understand. Come on, we'd better get to class, we're going to be late"

And she left Ichigo feeling very confused indeed. He wasn't sure, but he felt as if he had just made a new friend.

* * *

**Author's Note**** – **Isn't interaction nice? Seems like a typical Ichigo and Rukia moment, doesn't it? I thought it did...but yeah. Let me know what you think /points to review button/ Go on, you know you want to press it...some review number that's 75 or above for this chapter would be nice - Sam 


	5. 4 — Secrets

**Miracles – IV**

The next week proved to be one of the strangest in Ichigo's life. Now, being eighteen, Ichigo had experienced all kinds of different weeks. The worst probably being right after his mother died. The best being the week his little sisters were born; he'd been thrilled to be a big brother. But the category of strangest was still open. Until Kuchiki Rukia came into his life, anyway.

On the outside, the strange girl appeared to be, well...strange. But she was quiet, polite, kept her head down in class...that was what the teachers said anyway.

If only the teachers knew how freaking wrong they were. Once one dug into the deeper layers of Kuchiki Rukia, there was no going back. In the last week, Ichigo learned that Rukia was loud and proud about everything. She had a strong – extremely strong – passion for rabbits, zero patience for anything that annoyed her (which could be everything, depending on her mood), and – despite the fact that she was incredibly short – she was _strong. _Ichigo learned that when he started in on her height – she had slapped him. Hard.

But once one dug deeper, past the layer of Kuchiki Rukia that was almost intimidating, there was more still. Ichigo also discovered – not that Rukia willingly allowed it – that she was really a sensitive, caring, maybe even shy girl. But it wasn't a side that was easily found.

"Ow! Jeez, what was that for?" Ichigo grumbled angrily as he rubbed his head, "All I said was that you're short, it's no big – ow, quit it!"

But Rukia continued hitting him with her bag. "I am _not _short!" she said angrily, "I'm...I'm..."

"Vertically challenged?" Ichigo supplied the words, and took another hit to the shoulder, "_Ow_! You crazy bitch, quit hitting me!"

Rukia laughed cruelly as she rushed forward. Ichigo scrambled after her, school bag swinging wildly. "Get back here!" he shouted, hoping he sounded threatening; on the inside though, he really just wanted to laugh.

"Make me!" she called over her shoulder. Ichigo barreled forward, not really paying attention to where he was going. It was because of this that he didn't notice Rukia suddenly skid to a halt, and he ran into her. Both of them were sent crashing to the ground.

"Sorry," Ichigo said, straightening up, "I didn't mean to do that, I didn't notice you stopped," he braced himself for another hit, but nothing. Confused, he looked up at Rukia, and was surprised to see that she was on all fours, breathing hard. "H-Hey," Ichigo said hesitantly, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she pushed herself shakily into a standing position, stooping down to grab her bag at the same time, "Yeah, no problem, just fine"

"You sure?" he rested a hand on her shoulder, unnerved by how pale and vulnerable she suddenly looked. That all stopped a second later though, when she slapped his hand away.

"I wish people would just stop worrying about me all the time," Rukia broke in, "It's so annoying, I can take care of myself-"

"All right, all right, sorry," Ichigo cut in, "I wasn't trying to say you're weak, not at all, just wanted to make sure you're okay"

"I don't need you to worry about me," she sounded icy now, "Talk to you later Ichigo"

She stormed away without another word. Ichigo looked after her, confused. "Jeez...mood-swings much?"

* * *

Rukia wasn't even a street away when her anger towards Ichigo evaporated. He didn't know, of course. He didn't know about...her problem. He was just naturally worried, it didn't have anything to do with her leukemia. He worried for her...not for what was wrong with her. She should have appreciated the worry. But it annoyed her. People worried for her twenty-four/seven, she wanted a day where no one worried.

"I'm home," Rukia called listlessly as she walked through the door.

"Hi Rukia," Hisana called back, "How was school?"

"You know, big building, classrooms, desks, the usual," Rukia walked into the kitchen and grabbed a soda from the fridge, "It's one of those cycles. I think"

"Right," Hisana, who had been standing in the sink, set a glass of water down on the counter, "Pills, Rukia"

"Yeah, it's a cycle all right," Rukia dropped her soda onto the counter next to the glass, then grabbed the glass and her pills.

"Very funny," Hisana said with a smile. She was used to her daughter's sarcasm, "Just take your pills for my peace of my mind, all right?"

Rukia complied, though she felt a little annoyed. "I never asked for this, you know," the words came out of nowhere.

"Asked for what?" Hisana looked truly confused now.

"For...for any of this," Rukia struggled with the words, "I didn't ask to be sick, I don't want it-"

"Of course you don't Rukia"

"Then why does everyone treat me like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like...I dunno. You, Dad, you worry too much, and at school, all the kids treat me weird-"

Rukia probably could have gone on four hours. She had a lot of anger in her, after all. But Hisana stopped the younger girl, simply by laying a hand on her shoulder. It was a similar action to what Ichigo had done earlier. But unlike with Ichigo, Rukia didn't slap the hand away. "Mom-"

"Rukia," Hisana's voice was firm yet soft, "Your father and I both know perfectly well you don't want to be treated differently. But it's hard for us, you have to understand that. We try so hard to treat like a normal teenage girl...but we're always worried. Sometimes it just shows"

"Sometimes?" Rukia muttered, "More like _all _the time"

Hisana laughed at that. "Sorry. We'll try harder, all right? But Rukia, you have to try as well. Try and understand that we just want what's best with you. Okay?"

Rukia nodded and Hisana drew the girl into a hug. "Thanks Mom," she wasn't really sure why she was saying that, it just sounded right. Hisana understood though. "I'm going up to my room, okay? I don't feel very good"

"What's wrong?" Hisana's worried voice came back into play.

"Just a little wiped out," Rukia said with a smile, "I got into a race on the way home – don't ask, long story – I'm just tired. I just wanna sleep a little before supper"

"Well...all right," Hisana was obviously struggling not to sound too concerned. She was half-way succeeding too. "If you're still asleep for supper, I'll wake you up, all right?"

"Sounds good," and with that, Rukia walked up to her room. She was hadn't been exactly lying. She was tired, but not because she had run half-way home. She'd felt sick for awhile now. It was just a cold, she was sure, but she wasn't giving her mother something else to worry about. As soon as she got upstairs she dropped onto her bed, then rolled over onto her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. She had a feeling she'd just had one of those "mother-daughter" moments people were always talking about. Not that she wasn't normally close to her mother, of course; they were usually just on different pages. It felt nice that they were agreeing about something. For once

* * *

Ichigo was relishing in the silence. Keigo wasn't in school. It was the absolute best thing in the world. Class-time was quiet without Asano constantly poking Ichigo in the back of the head, whispering, "Psst, Ichigo!"

Lunchtime started out more or less quietly as well. Ichigo took up his regular spot on the roof, munching boredly on his sandwich, watching everyone on the ground below. They looked like little ants.

It didn't take Ichigo long to pick out the shortest ant of all, with raven hair and violet eyes. She was leaning against a tree. Unlike everyone else, she wasn't eating anything. She was engrossed in a book. Apparently she wasn't hungry. But she did look kind of lonely, just sitting against that tree...

Ichigo wasn't sure how or when it happened, but before long he was standing next to Rukia, looking down at her. "Hey. You wanna come up and eat with me?"

Where the hell did _that _come from? Apparently Rukia was surprised as well. She looked up, violet eyes wide. "What?"

"You. Eat lunch. With me"

"I heard you the first time," she scowled, "You don't need to treat me like a Neanderthal"

"Then don't act like one," he shot back. She scowled, but surprisingly didn't make to hit him, "Look, do you want to come up with me or not?"

After a minute of contemplating, she stood up, grabbing her bag, and followed him up to the roof. They got a few knowing looks from the kids around them, but they ignored them.

They had a good – well, an okay lunch. Everything was good, except for the fact that Rukia did, on occasion, slap Ichigo over the head. Though he probably deserved it, he would never admit it. All and all, it was good. Except for the fact that he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with the short girl, he couldn't prove it. Well...he couldn't prove it _yet _anyway.

"Dad," Kurosaki Isshin looked up. He was sitting at his desk in the clinic, doing some paperwork.

"What's up, Ichigo?" Isshin's face split into a goofy grin, "Need advice about girls?"

"I'll take advice from you when hell freezes over," Ichigo grumbled, "Look, Dad...you're pretty friendly with the local hospitals, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you think you could get information a patient that's been there recently?" Now Isshin looked confused.

"I suppose...I mean, patient records are usually kept confidential...but I can probably persuade someone...why?"

"I need information," Ichigo said firmly, "There's a girl-"

"A girl?!"

"Shut up!" Ichigo kicked Isshin in the face, "Look, it's a girl from school, there's a lot of rumors going around about her-"

"I'll see what I can do," Isshin cut his son off, "Who am I looking for?"

"Kuchiki Rukia," Isshin nodded and scribbled down the name on a notepad.

"It might take awhile, there are a lot of hospitals in the area"

"I've got time"

* * *

"Rukia, get _up_," Rukia groaned as she rolled over

"I'm going, I'm going," she _really _wasn't. Her entire body felt stiff, as if someone had replaced her bones with metal rods. And her head? Forget that. It was pounding. Hisana's voice rang through Rukia's head. "I'm going..."

"Come on Rukia, you're going to be late," Hisana prodded Rukia gently, "Up"

"I'm going"

"You've been saying that for five minutes," Hisana rested a hand on Rukia's forehead, "Rukia, do you feel okay?"

"Never better," Rukia had never said a worse lie in her life. Hisana certainly didn't buy it.

"How long have you felt like this for?"

"I dunno..." it had been a steady progress over the last two weeks. But Rukia would _never _say that.

"Well you're staying home for the day," Hisana said firmly, "I'll call the school..."

Rukia wouldn't admit it, but it was a really a relief.

* * *

Ichigo looked around as he entered class. No Rukia. Weird. "All right, everyone take their seats," the teacher walked in. Everyone but a few kids scrambled for their seats. The ones who didn't got chalk thrown at their heads. _They _went to their seats scowling. "Has anyone seen Kuchiki-san?" the teacher asked as she looked around. Everyone exchanged looks. No one seemed to know though. "Well is anyone going to see her today?"

Ichigo contemplated for a second, then raised his hand. "Good, Kurosaki-kun, you can give her the work she misses"

The day passed uneventfully. Ichigo barely noticed though. He was too busy wondering what had happened to Rukia. At the end of the day, he received a folder with work from the teacher, and headed home. The house was empty. Ichigo dug out the phone book, trying to remember Rukia's parents' names. Keigo had said them once...

"Aha!" he smirked triumphantly has his finger, which had been running down the list of K's, came to a halt on "Kuchiki Byakuya, Hisana". He copied the address down and quickly rushed out of the house.

_Ding-Dong_

Ichigo shuffled from foot to foot, nervous, as he waited for the door to open, the folder from the teacher clutched tightly in his hands. Why the hell was he so nervous?

The door opened, and Ichigo straightened up quickly. "Hello," a woman that looked remarkably like an older version of Rukia had answered the door, "Can I help you?"

"Uh...is Rukia around?" Ichigo held up the folder, "I uh...got her work from school"

"Oh!" the woman looked pleasantly surprised, "Yes, she's upstairs, she felt a little under the weather today. Come in, come in..."

And he was ushered inside. The living room had a very white theme going for it. The walls, the carpet, the couch, everything was white. But at the same time...it felt almost cozy, welcoming, loving even. This was obviously a family of caring people. "So what's your name?" Rukia's mother asked as they started upstairs.

"Oh...Kurosaki Ichigo"

"Kurosaki? You aren't related to Kurosaki Isshin, are you?"

Ichigo blinked, surprised, "How'd you know?"

The older lady smiled, "My husband and I went to school with your father. He was really a pleasant person, we haven't been in touch in years though, I knew he had a son about Rukia's age..."

They stopped right at the beginning of the landing. Rukia's mother tapped lightly on the first door on the left. "Rukia? Are you awake?" no response. Slowly she opened the door. Ichigo was surprised by what he saw; Rukia was laying in bed, fast asleep, her face paler then ever. It was startling sight. "Oh, I think she's sleeping-"

But at that moment the girl stirred, and her violet eyes opened slowly. "Mmm...Mom?" she blinked and looked around her mother. "Ichigo!" she was awake now, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," he held up the folder, "Work"

Smiling, Rukia's mother left them alone. Ichigo didn't stay for long though, Rukia still looked tired. Before he left though, she assured him she'd be back in school tomorrow. Ichigo was actually smiling when he left the Kuchiki house. His good mood didn't last long though.

"Ichigo," the orange-haired teen looked up as he walked into his house. His dad was standing just inside the door, a deadly serious look on his face.

"What's up?"

"I found out some stuff about your friend," Ichigo blinked. Oh. Right. Rukia.

"All right. What've you got?"

The look on Isshin's face was grim. "Dad, what is it?" now Ichigo was concerned. Isshin hardly _ever _looked _this _serious about something.

A handful of moments passed in silence, then Isshin said, "Ichigo, this girl, Rukia-chan. She's really your friend right? And nothing will change that?"

"Of course it won't"

There was another pause. Ichigo waited without even realizing he was holding his breath. Finally...

"Ichigo...Rukia-chan has leukemia"

* * *

**Author's Note**: Ah...well, seemed like the best way to end it at the time /looks around worriedly for flying objects/ anyways, hoping this chapter can bring my review count up to a hundred. Can it? You guys decide/pokes reader/ oh, and if anyone has any advice at all about how to improve my writing, I'm all ears. So if you have a suggestion...yeah. Review! - Sam 


	6. 5 — Shame?

**Miracle** – **V**

Ichigo never remembered what happened after his dad said those words. He didn't remember whirling around, and he didn't remember bolting upstairs, or slamming his door. All he knew was that one second he was standing in the foyer with his father, and the next he was in his room, breathing as if he had just run a mile. His heart was racing, beating a violent tattoo against his chest. And the word rang in his head. _Leukemia...Leukemia..._

"Ichigo?" the door opened, and Isshin stepped in, looking hesitant, "Ichigo, are you okay?"

"Are you sure?" Ichigo's voice was low and disbelieving, "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes," Isshin didn't even have to ask what his son was talking about, "Her doctor is Kaname Seiichi, he's an old friend of mine. He told me everything I wanted to know"

"I don't...believe it," Ichigo said after a minute, "I _don't_. Are you sure?"

He didn't want to believe it. Even though, on some level, it made sense, he did _not _want to believe_ any _of it.

"Ichigo, do you really think I'd lie about something like that?" there was too much truth behind those words to ignore. But really...it couldn't be true, could it? Ichigo realized something then; the truth was worse than any rumor the kids at school could come up with.

"Oh God...Rukia..."

"She was diagnosed when she was eight," Isshin started, "So young...she was in the hospital last year because she stopped taking her pills and no one realized it. She nearly died too, that's why they kept her in the hospital for so long..."

Part of Ichigo didn't want to hear this. He didn't want to hear about how Rukia had suffered, didn't want to know anything else. He was regretting asking his dad to investigate.

But part of him wanted to know it all. "I don't get it," he finally muttered, "How is it _no one _at school knows about this?"

"She's probably good at keeping secrets," Isshin said, "Maybe she just doesn't want anyone to know. Kuchiki...I know that name. If her father's Kuchiki Byakuya, and if she's anything like him, she's got a stubborn nature-"

Ichigo was no longer listening. His brain was still trying to absorb everything. Leukemia. Rukia had _Leukemia_. How could she act the way she did? How could she act so...normal, knowing what was happening inside her? And how could Ichigo have thought she was just another girl? "Ichigo," Isshin's voice broke through his orange-haired son's thoughts. "It's obvious she doesn't want this to get out. So don't harp on her about it, okay? Treat the way she wants to be treated"

"What do you mean?"

"Just treat her like she's a normal girl"

Later that night, as he lay in bed, Ichigo went over his father's words. It made sense, really; Rukia didn't want it to get out, she wanted to be normal. But how _could _Ichigo treat her normally? How could he act like he was just another clueless student. He wasn't just another student to her, after all; he was a friend, wasn't he? Sure, their friendship was a bit on the strange side, but still, he was the first person in the school that had really approached her, hadn't that told her anything about him? Hadn't that told her anything at all?

Before he could stop them, angry thoughts bubbled up in Ichigo's mind. If they were really _friends, _why hadn't she told him herself? Why did he have to go behind her back, getting information like this from his father, when it should have come from the source itself? Was he just not important enough that Rukia thought he deserved to know? Did their friendship really mean that little to her? Was it all just a game?

"_I wish people would stop worrying about me all the time..."_

The anger drained out of Ichigo. Maybe that was it. Maybe people who knew – doctors, parents, etc. – treated Rukia differently, worried about her too much. Maybe she didn't want her _friends _to spend all their time worrying, the way everyone else did.

Or maybe she just wanted to be treated like a normal girl. But could Ichigo do that? Could he face her now, knowing what he knew?

"It's not fair," he muttered, rolling over onto his side, "Why did this have to happen? Why to her? What'd she do to deserve this?"

* * *

Somehow, Ichigo kept a straight face through school. When Rukia greeted him, looking tired but happy, he managed to grunt out a 'hi' like he normally did. During lunch – for some odd reason Rukia decided to join Ichigo and Keigo – Ichigo was saved from having to talk; Keigo did it all, trying to impress Rukia. Ichigo had been right; Keigo definitely wasn't her type.

All and all, Ichigo thought he should be congratulated on how well he handled the day, all things considered. He treated Rukia exactly how she wanted to be: like a normal, healthy, high school student. And all that was fine.

Until they were walking home

"You have a lot of energy today, don't you?" Ichigo asked as he and Rukia made their way down the street.

"I was cooped up all day yesterday," Rukia said as she jumped over the cracks in the sidewalk, focusing all her energies on making sure she didn't hit even _one, _"I go crazy when I'm cooped up like that, I need to get out more. Then an entire day of school..."

Ichigo smiled in a cock-eyed way. It was hard to believe, just by looking at her, that this girl fought for her life every day

Maybe it was those thoughts that caused what happened next

"Come on," Rukia said suddenly, abandoning her attempt to not step on any cracks, "Race you to my house. My mom wants to see you again, she really liked you – for some reason, I'm still trying to figure it out, but whatever. Let's go!"

She took off down the street. Ichigo, not thinking, blurted out, "Hey, take it easy!"

Rukia skidded to a stop. Her back was to Ichigo. Her body had gone rigid. "W-What?" she stuttered without turning around, "What did you say?"

Ichigo regretted the words at once, "I mean...Er...I mean..." he stumbled over his words, "I didn't mean...I just meant...you were sick yesterday-"

He moved forward, stepping up right behind her, and rested a hand on his shoulder, but she jerked away. "That doesn't have anything to do with it," she said slowly, "You...Oh God...you know...I knew there was something different, _I knew it..._how?"

"Rukia – what are you talking about?" he had to look confused, had to act ignorant. But obviously he couldn't fool Rukia.

"You know!" she shouted, whirling around. Her eyes were blazing, but Ichigo could see tears, "How did you find out, _how_?!"

"R-Rukia, calm down...look, I don't know what you're talking about, really-"

"Yes you do!" she yelled, "I don't believe it...I don't believe it...who _told_ you?!"

Ichigo was bewildered now. He hadn't expected her to be exactly happy when and if she found out that he knew, but she was really overreacting. He wished he had a little bit more of a clue on what to do. He could tell she was upset, but he sucked at comforting people, and he hadn't thought about what he would say if she took it badly.

"Rukia, come on already," Ichigo said finally, feeling flustered, "I-It's okay, really, I have no clue what you're talking about, I mean-"

"Don't," her voice was choked with tears, "Don't _talk to me _like that-"

"Like _what_?!"

"Like I'm some kid who doesn't understand-"

"I never said that!"

"It's none of your business," Rukia snapped, looking furious, "It was _none of your business, _you didn't have the right...how did you find out?"

Ichigo knew saying, "I don't know what you're talking about," would be way too overly repetitive. It was obvious she knew he knew, and saying he didn't know would have just angered her even more than she already was. He had to do something else, say something that wouldn't make him look like a completely jerk, something that would make her listen to him, realize that he hadn't meant any harm. But what could he say? "Rukia, just listen, all right?" he reached out to touch her shoulder. She pulled away from him, but not before Ichigo felt her body shaking. Whether it was because she was angry, or she was ready to cry, he didn't know.

"No, I won't!" she snapped, "You shouldn't have...you didn't...it wasn't your right, it doesn't have anything to do with you, you should have just minded your own business!"

And with that she whirled around and ran away, her feet pounding furiously against the pavement, her bag swinging wildly. Ichigo stared after her, blinking rapidly, his amber eyes filled with shock. He'd known she'd react badly...but what had just happened had been a complete and total disaster. And suddenly he wished he'd come up with a different way to reveal to her the fact that he knew her secret. Because obviously _that _wasn't the right way.

"Jeez," he said; his voice sounded weird even to him, as if he were being strangled, "So what the hell should I do _now_?"

* * *

Kuchiki Hisana looked up from her book as the door banged open. She was nestled in a corner of the couch, reading. "Hi Rukia, how was-"

The young girl in question darted through the living room, up the stairs, and to her room, slamming the door so hard the pictures on the wall rattled, and one actually fell. The sound of breaking glass echoed through the house like a gunshot. Hisana blinked as she stared at the stairs, then stood and walked up, unsure of what to say to Rukia, who was obviously upset. Before she knocked on Rukia's door though, she looked down to see which picture had suffered; it was one of the small family, taken the summer before Rukia started first grade. She stared at the picture long and hard before reaching her fist up to Rukia's door.

"Rukia?" she knocked lightly on the girl's bedroom door, "Rukia, what's wrong? Rukia, open up, come on," she tried to turn the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. "We had to give to you the room with the door that locked," Hisana muttered, just a bit on the bitter side, "Rukia, open the door, please. I want to talk to you"

No answer. Hisana pushed at the door, wishing it would just unlock. She used to know how to pick-lock, maybe if she could find a bobby pin...

_Ding-Dong_

Hisana sighed as the doorbell rang, and made her way downstairs. She wasn't done with Rukia yet, but she couldn't leave whoever just standing at the door. "Kurosaki-kun!"

The orange-haired teen was standing on the doorstep, looking sheepish. "Uh...hello Kuchiki-san," he said in a hesitant voice, "Is...Rukia here?"

"She's in her room," Hisana said cautiously, "I don't suppose you know what happened to her? She seemed very upset when she came in"

"Yeah," he said slowly, "Unfortunately, I kind of do. Do you think she'd, um...talk to me?"

Hisana was a little confused. "I don't know, I mean...she seemed upset. She won't talk to me...Kurosaki-kun, do you know what's wrong?"

"It's a long story," Ichigo muttered as Hisana led him upstairs. Hisana noticed he looked upset, but decided not to push the matter. She knocked carefully on Rukia's door.

"Rukia? Kurosaki-kun's here. Do you want to talk to him?" no answer. Hisana was starting to get a little upset, which wasn't something that happened often. She knocked again, beginning to wonder if Rukia was even still in there, or if she had snuck out the window. It sounded like the kind of the thing the stubborn girl would do.

"Rukia, please," Ichigo said, surprising Hisana, "I'm sorry. Really, really, sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, I didn't know you'd...just talk to me!"

Nothing. "Kurosaki-kun?" Hisana said in a low voice, "What _happened_?"

Ichigo shoved his hands into his pockets, looking somewhere between annoyed as hell and worried. "It's...it's my fault, I asked my dad...he did some searching for me..."

"What do you mean?"

Ichigo couldn't seem to bring himself to look at Hisana as he answered. "I know...I know Rukia has leukemia"

Hisana's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't think she'd ever hear _anyone_ say those words. "I didn't know she'd take it so bad, or I never would have snooped"

Hisana still wasn't sure of what to say. Finally she decided on, "How did your dad find out?"

Last time she had checked, after all, patient records were confidential – not open to the public. That had been one of Rukia's first questions, after all her questions about cancer.

"He's friends with her doctor," Ichigo said in a low voice, "Like I said, I asked him to...I just wanted to know...there were all these rumors, I wanted to know if any of them were true...I didn't know she'd take it so badly"

Hisana sighed wearily and started downstairs, beckoning for Ichigo to follow. He did so, looking rather forlorn. "She took it badly?" Hisana asked once she and Ichigo had settled on the couch. The orange-haired teen nodded silently, his eyes on the floor. He was obviously very upset. "I can't say I'm very surprised. She's struggled to keep it a secret for a long time now. She's...ashamed, I think. Ashamed that she can't just be a normal girl. I think that's what drove her to do what she did before, last summer...when she stopped taking her pills, I mean, you don't know about that, do you?" Ichigo nodded. "Your father really did his homework. Listen, there's one thing you should know about Rukia: she doesn't want to be treated differently. That's a lot of the reason why she doesn't tell anyone about her. She doesn't want pity, she doesn't want people to treat her like she's a delicate doll. She just wants to be normal. The only people that know outside of doctors and family are her teachers, for obvious reasons. And they've assured Rukia that they won't treat her any differently then they have any other students," Hisana noticed, with a pang, that Ichigo still looked rather upset, "I don't know what to say, to make this better, Kurosaki-kun, except maybe this; I know you didn't mean to hurt her. You just wanted to know more, and that's understandable, really. Rukia's a smart girl, I'm sure in time, she'll realize that as well. She may not see it right now, but in the long run, I think it will help, having someone else know her secret"

* * *

_Knock-Knock_

"Rukia? Open the door sweetie, come on..."

Rukia clutched tightly to her pillow, refusing to answer the summons. All she could think, over and over, was, h_ow dare he?_

"Rukia, you know he didn't mean to hurt you, he just wanted...he wanted to know more about you. Come on Rukia, be reasonable. You can't tell me you _liked _having to keep all those secrets from him, did you?"

She couldn't stand it. She grabbed her pillow out from under her and buried her head under it. Hisana's voice was muffled slightly, just enough to wear Rukia couldn't make out the words anymore. "He didn't have the right," she muttered, "He didn't have the right, it was none of his business, who does he think he is anyway? Why couldn't he just let it go?"

Her eyes stung with tears she refused to shed. She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't cry, _she would not cry, _if she cried she was weak, and she wouldn't be weak, she couldn't be weak...

Hell. She was weak anyway. She let the tears fall

* * *

Ichigo made his way home, head spinning. Everything Hisana had said was floating around inside his mind. Ashamed. So Rukia was ashamed. She couldn't stand the thought of being so different from the people around her, couldn't stand the thought of people treating her like she was weak. She wanted to be normal. That was understandable, of course, but it was something she could never have. And she knew that, she had to, but it wasn't exactly a reality she wanted to deal with. She didn't want to think about not being able to just be normal. So she hid it.

Mingling with Ichigo's pity was guilt. He felt bad for making Rukia so upset, hated himself for touching upon something she was obviously very sensitive about. Why couldn't he have just let it go? Why did he have to be such a snoop, why did he have to so desperately want to know every little detail about her? Why couldn't he just take a hint, realize that if she didn't want to talk about it, there had to be a reason. He should have been smart enough to just leave it alone, should have been happy not knowing.

A thought bounced into his mind, making itself heard over the din that was echoing in his head, putting an end to his mental beating. _You love her_

Love? Ichigo blinked. What the hell? He was only eighteen, he wasn't in love with anyone! And certainly not that annoying midget who's favorite pass-time and obvious goal in life was to drive people (namely him) to an early grave. Where the hell did _love _factor in?

_Well, let's see, _an annoying voice said in the back of his head, _You like being around her, you want to know everything about her, you want to protect her...that sounds like love to me_

_Oh shut up, _Ichigo grumbled silently

_I'm just sayin'_

_Who asked you?_

_You did_

_Did not_

_Well you asked yourself, and considering I'm you, you kind of _did-

"Shut up!" Ichigo said loudly. A couple of kids who were walking past him craned their necks to look over their shoulders and stare at him in a panicking way. He ran a hand through his orange hair, annoyed. And now he was talking to himself. He just _defined_ sanity, really.

_Look, _the voice spoke up again, _It's obvious you love her, isn't that enough? Why don't you just admit it and get it over with?_

_Because even if I _did _love her – which I'm not saying I do – that's not to say _she _loves _me. _Especially not after today. She probably hates me as a matter of fact_

_Does it make you feel better, thinking about her hating you?_

"I'm home," Ichigo called listlessly as he walked into his house.

"Hi Ichi-nii!" Yuzu called back. Ichigo smiled at the eagerness in his sister's voice. She was so happy, so full of life. He couldn't help but wonder if Rukia had ever sounded like that without it being all an act.

* * *

**Author's Note** – /wearing a helmet ye-aaaaaah...right. Just don't kill me, okay? That's all I ask. I don't remember what my review count was last time, and I'm too lazy to go and check, so just review letting me know what you think, and I'll update when I see a number that looks good. All righty then? - Sam 


	7. 6 — Dealing With Reality

**Author's Note** – I had to do a bit of homework for this chapter. There's a lot of information about Leukemia – you'll understand why once you read it – so unless you're really interested in knowing about it, you can skip the parts in italics. Okay, on with the story!

* * *

**Miracle – VI**

"Ichigoooo!" the orange-haired teen's eyes flew open and bolted up. His father's feet were incredibly close to his face; he grabbed said feet and flung them around, sending Isshin crashing into the wall. The older man groaned and whined as he struggled to stand up. Ichigo swore under his breath as he looked at his alarm clock. His amber eyes widened in surprise and panic.

"Nine?!" he flew out of bed, "_Nine_?! Why didn't somebody freakin' wake me up?!"

He bolted around his room, flinging his pajamas off and digging around for a clean uniform. His dad watched in mild interest. Just as Ichigo was about to run downstairs, Isshin said, "Oh, by the way, school was canceled"

Ichigo paused as his brain processed the information. "_What_?!"

"Yeah, it was on the news this morning," Isshin said casually, "They found some 'mysterious items' on campus, and shut the place down for the day"

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"You didn't ask," Ichigo swore angrily as he chucked off his uniform shirt and started digging around for a regular one. If he wasn't going to school, he certainly wasn't wearing the uniform around. He stopped long enough to hit his father though; there was always time for that.

* * *

Rukia picked up a book, stared at it for a few minutes, then threw it away from her. She picked up another book, stared it at for a few minutes, and threw it away again. She was restless, she was bored, and she was going _out of her mind_. 

She had left her room about five times since she had run upstairs when she got home yesterday. Once to eat supper, once to eat breakfast, and three times to go the bathroom. Her parents both attempted to talk to her, but she wasn't in a listening mood. And if one more person knocked on her door, she was going to _scream._

She picked up another book, stared at it, and threw it away. Annoyed now, she bounded off her bed and started pacing around her room. Part of her wanted desperately to be alone, to be left to the brooding of her thoughts, to sulk and curse Ichigo like there was no tomorrow, and wonder why she couldn't just be _left alone. _The other part wanted to be with someone, anyone who would keep her company. The silence of the room pressed in on all sides.

Rukia was _really _losing it. She bent down to pick up _another _book off her floor and flipped it over in her hands. It was a book her mother had bought her a few years ago, when Rukia had gone through her "I want to know everything about Leukemia" stage (it wasn't a phase that lasted long). She glared at the book for a long time, then blind rage overcame common sense, and she flung the book as hard as she could against the wall. It hit with a satisfyingly loud _whap, _and she threw herself down onto the bed, burying her face into the pillow. "God I _hate _this," she muttered. She wasn't usually one to stew in self pity, but today felt like a good stewing day. School was canceled, her parents were leaving her alone, and she had a feeling Ichigo wasn't going to bother with her ever again

Oh yeah. It was definitely a good day for stewing. "I don't even know why I care so much," she muttered into her pillow, "It's just Ichigo...he's not even really my friend..."

_Maybe because...you love him?_

Rukia blinked. "Love? Please, I'm only seventeen. What _is _love anyway?"

_Well let's see, you like being around him, you miss his company when he isn't around-_

"Over exaggerate much?"

_Not quite. Face it, you know I'm right_

"I'm talking to myself," Rukia grumbled, "Great. I'm _really _losing my mind"

_For once we agree on something_

"Oh shut _up"_

Rukia sighed as she rolled over onto her back. Yeah. She was _definitely _losing her mind

* * *

Ichigo fell back onto his bed, sighing wearily. The day off was a nice change of pace, but really, he was already driving himself nuts with boredom. He sat up, stretching. He wanted something to do, but he couldn't think of anything. And then it hit him in one, hard stroke. 

He wanted to know more about Rukia. Not Rukia the person – that was his next project, if she ever talked to him again – but what Rukia fought every single day.

"Hey Dad?" Ichigo peered into the clinic. Isshin was sitting at the desk, working.

"What's up Ichigo?"

"I was wondering...can I use the computer?" something in Ichigo's voice must have told Isshin what his son's intentions were, because he gave in without a fight, and three minutes later, Ichigo was in front of the computer, typing the word 'leukemia' into a search engine. He clicked the first link that came up, and his eyes skimmed over the article. He read:

_Leukemia is a disease that affects blood forming cells in the body. It is cancerous condition characterized by an abundance of abnormal white blood cells in the body._

_Leukemia begins in the bone marrow and spreads to other parts of the body. Both children and adults can develop leukemia and at this time there is no real means of prevention for the disease._

_Causes of leukemia are unknown, but researchers believe that smoking accounts for 20 of a type of leukemia that affects adults called adult acute myelocytic leukemia (AML).Radiation exposure is another factor of leukemia development._

_Doctors don't understand the exact cause of leukemia. It seems to develop from a combination of genetic and environmental factors._

_Acute leukemia begins with one or a few white blood cells that have a lost or damaged DNA sequence. These cells remain immature in what's known as a blast form, but maintain the ability to multiply. Because they don't mature and then die as normal cells do, they accumulate and begin to interfere with functions of vital organs. Eventually, they overwhelm the production of healthy cells._

_Chronic leukemia involves more mature blood cells. They replicate and accumulate more slowly, so the progression of the disease is slower but it can still be deadly. Experts aren't sure why this process begins._

_Eventually, a shortage of normal white blood cells leads to infection, anemia and excessive bleeding. Too many abnormal white blood cells can impair the function of bone marrow and infiltrate other organs. Death usually results from bleeding or infection._

_The symptoms of leukemia are broad, but there are specific symptoms of leukemia to keep an eye out for:_

_fever_

_infection_

_excessive bruising_

_fatigue_

_physical exercise intolerance_

_abdominal pain, or generally feeling fullness_

_weight loss_

_abnormal bleeding_

_weakness_

_Leukemia is a disease that affects both children and adults. It begins in the bone marrow and spreads to other parts of the body. Leukemia symptoms can occur all of a sudden or gradually progress..._

Ichigo pushed away from the screen, suddenly feeling sick. He was beginning to wish he hadn't read any of that. But he had wanted to know...that was becoming a bad habit of his, always getting involved where he didn't belong. If he wasn't careful, it could cost him something.

After all, it might have already cost him Rukia's friendship

"You're becoming a bit obsessive, aren't you?" he jumped; Isshin was standing at his shoulder, reading the article.

"Get off my back, I was just curious," Ichigo closed the window, happy for an excuse to stop reading the article, "She lives with this...everyday...I wish there was a way I could help her, but she won't even let me in. Part of me thinks she almost _enjoys _being locked up in herself, like she thinks it keeps her safe, somehow-"

"There's still a way," Isshin said, "Give her today, talk to her tomorrow. You might be surprised at what she says"

* * *

"Aha!" Rukia's bedroom door opened, "I knew eventually you'd forget to lock it, it was only a matter of time-" 

Rukia frowned as her mother walked in. "All right Rukia, I know you want to kick me out, but give me a chance," Hisana sat down on the bed next to Rukia, who sat up, trying – and failing – to hide her annoyance. "Okay, that's more like it," Hisana ran a hand through Rukia's raven hair, "Now, tell me something Rukia; why did you run away from Kurosaki-kun yesterday?"

Rukia found that to be a rather odd question. "W-What do you mean?" she stumbled over the words, "I mean, why does it matter? It was none of his business, for one thing, and for another, why was he snooping around where he didn't belong anyway?"

"Oh Rukia," Hisana sounded almost distressed, "Can't you see? He cares about you. He wanted to know more, that's why he went searching. He didn't know it would hurt you"

"It was still none of his business," Rukia grabbed her pillow, wrapped her arms around it, and buried her face into it. Damn, this self-pity thing was _really _starting to get old, "He didn't _need _to know, ignorance is bliss, why couldn't he just be happy with that?"

"Why can't _you _be happy with someone actually caring about you?" Hisana's words hit Rukia in a weird way. "Rukia, tell me something," Hisana continued, not seeming to notice the sudden change in Rukia's stance, "And don't answer me right away, I want you to think long and hard about this before you give me your answer. But I really want to know: what are you so ashamed of, Rukia?"

For a second Rukia was stunned into silence. Finally she managed to say, "W-What do you mean? I'm not ashamed of anything"

"You could have fooled me," Hisana carefully pulled the pillow out of her daughter's grip, "Ten years Rukia, and I don't you ever_ once _told anyone the truth about you. I don't know why, and it's not really any of my business. But if you won't admit it to me, at least admit it to _yourself. _You're ashamed of yourself, aren't you Rukia?"

"I'm not-"

"I thought I told you to think about this, Rukia," Hisana cut gently through her daughter's words. But while her voice was gentle, her face was set. She wasn't letting Rukia out of this, which the younger girl probably should have expected. "Just think for a minute Rukia. Maybe you don't realize what you're doing...but you've been hiding. For ten years, you've hidden behind whatever was most convenient. You've made up stories, you've shut yourself out from the world, you've done everything within your power to make sure you were completely safe from anyone ever knowing your secret. But in that time, I think you've also done one thing. You've even convinced yourself that nothing is wrong. Don't you think maybe it's time to admit the truth? If not to anyone else, at least to yourself. You owe yourself that much"

Rukia looked up into her mother's eyes, then turned away. She'd never really thought about it before. Was it true? Did she really hide, from everyone, _herself_? Had she really gotten _that good _at lies that she could even convince her own mind that they were true?

Hisana, sensing the young girl's distress, raised a soft hand and stroked her daughter's head gently. Rukia, feeling an intense need to do something with her arms, pulled her knees up under her chin and wrapped said arms around her legs. She closed her eyes, enjoying her mother's touch. She could feel the tears welling behind her closed eyelids, but refused to shed them. She was done being weak. "I don't want this," she whispered, resting her chin on her knees, "I _don't want this. _I don't want there to be something wrong with me, I don't want to be treated differently, I don't want...I don't want to have leukemia, I just want to be _normal_!"

She screamed that last part, and without warning uncurled from her tightly wound position and nearly flew away from her mother. She barely felt as her feet hit the floor, but before she knew it she was standing at her window, looking outside. It was mid-October, but the weather was still fair. Kids were zooming down the street on their bikes, smiling and shouting to each other. _Lucky them, _Rukia thought bitterly, folding her arms over her chest, _Lucky freakin' them_

Hisana recovered from the shock of seeing her daughter move so quickly, and stood up. She hated seeing the young girl so bothered, so upset. She wished there was something she could do to help. "They'll find a cure, Rukia. Someday, they will-"

"They won't," she whispered, "They _never will. _They could search for a hundred years, but they'll never find a cure. They can say they're close, but it'll be a lie. They can say there will be a breakthrough any day, but there won't be, there'll never be a breakthrough. It'll never happen. No one's any closer to finding a cure then they are to stopping the sun from shining. In fact, they're probably _closer _to stopping the sun from shining then they are finding a cure"

Hisana wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders and drew her in gently. Rukia rested her head on her mother's arm, still refusing to let her tears fall. "Do you believe in hope, Rukia?"

"Is there any reason I should?"

* * *

"Hey, Ichigo! _Ichigo_!" the teen in question looked around, surprised, and saw Rukia running towards him. It was the next day, school had just ended. All day Ichigo had debated on whether or not to talk to Rukia, or let her come to him. She hadn't sat with them during lunch, so he hadn't had a chance then (not that it mattered, Keigo hadn't stopped talking the entire time), and she had avoided him in the hallways and in class. But now, as he made his way down the sidewalk for home, there she was, moving as quickly as she could to catch up with him. 

"Hey," he watched in surprise as she caught up to him and doubled over, gasping for breath, "Um, are you-"

"Shut...up," she managed to say, "You're not...allowed to talk. Not until I've had my say. So just _don't talk"_

She straightened up, breathing hard. Her violets eyes were cold. "All right," he said, trying to hide his slight annoyance, "Talk then"

She looked around. "First thing's first," she said in a final sort of way, "Have you told _anyone _else about...about me?"

"Of course not," he said, feeling a little annoyed, "After the way you freaked, did you think I would? If I told anyone, you probably would have murdered me. And I enjoy living. Seriously, did you think I'd be dumb enough to?"

"As a matter of fact..." she ducked to avoid the hand he swung at her, "Fine, moving on, then. But if I _ever _find out you've told anyone-"

"I _didn't_"

"Okay," she shifted her feet nervously, "Okay, I'll stop. But I have another question. Why did you want to know about it so badly?"

That caught Ichigo by surprise. "I...I don't know. I heard all the rumors about you...I wanted to know the truth, and I had a feeling you would never tell me, so I went behind your back. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, but it was driving me nuts, I just had to know. I really am sorry though, you were right, I didn't have...it wasn't any of my business"

"Well, you're a smart one," Rukia muttered, "I guess I'm...sorry, too. I guess I kind of, you know, freaked, huh?"

"_Kind of_?" she swung her bag around and slapped his arm with it. He yelped in pain in and muttered, "Sorry, you were saying?"

"That's what I thought," she said approvingly, "Look, I _am _sorry. But I've...it's been ten years, I've never told anyone, and it was weird, knowing that you knew...I panicked. I shouldn't have gone off the way I did though, that was bad, I know. I didn't mean to, it just happened, and then after...I think I was kind of...mad at you"

"Mad at me? For what?"

"In a word, for interfering," she swung her bag back and forth nervously, "I've tried so hard to just...well, to try and act like nothing is really wrong. But that blew up in my face, obviously. Look, I said I'm sorry, isn't that enough?"

"Yeah, I'm...you know, I'm sorry too," he said finally, "Like I said before, it's really none of my business...I just wish you'd trusted me enough to tell me"

"It's not a matter of _trust, _Ichigo," she said slowly, "It's nothing like that, really. I trust you, completely, for some odd reason. It's just...I don't know, it's a matter of...well, shame, I think. God, my mother was right..."

"Shame?"

"Look, it's a long story," Rukia said, a tad impatient, "I'd love to tell you everything – but that'll take too much time"

"Then we'll take it slow," Ichigo suggested, "I want to get to know you Rukia, I mean really know you, not just the person you show the world"

She smiled, almost sadly. "There are parts of my mind you don't want to get into Ichigo. Hell, there are parts of my mind _I _don't even want to get into, and it's _my _mind. It's a dark place though, my mind, not something you want to mess around with"

"Don't tell me what I want to do and I don't want to do. Just start talking"

* * *

**Author's Note – **Aw! Don't you just love little IchiRuki moments? Still don't remember what my last review number was, so just review - Sam 


	8. 7 — Meeting the Family

**Miracles – VII**

"Come_ooooon_!" Isshin whined.

"Forget it!" Ichigo said angrily, "No way in a cold hell, old man"

"I think you should," Yuzu piped up, "I bet it'd be really nice, ya know?"

"I already told you, no"

The way Ichigo was talking, one might think his father and sister attempting to submit him to some kind of terrible torture, or perhaps asking him to do something terrible, such as eat his arm or maybe dye his hair black. But no, they weren't trying to get him to do any of that. So what terrible thing _were_they doing?

"Would you guys just leave me alone about it?" Ichigo grumbled, running a hand through his spiky orange hair. "I will not...I refuse..."

"Come on, Ichi-nii, there are worse things in the world," Karin spoke up at last. Apparently she was just tired of listening to them argue. Normally she didn't get mixed up in her sister and father's idiotic ideas.

"Look, I _refuse_to invite Rukia to dinner!"

Yup. That was the absolutely terrible thing. Yuzu and Isshin were attempting to get Ichigo to invite Kuchiki Rukia to supper at the Kurosaki house. Okay, so maybe there are worse things in the world then that, but to Ichigo, at that moment, that was the worst. "I'm not inviting her to dinner here," Ichigo repeated firmly, "_Forget it_"

Yuzu and Isshin both look put down. It had been a week since Ichigo and Rukia had made up. Since then, Isshin had been bugging Ichigo to invite the raven haired girl to supper. But Ichigo wouldn't have it. He wouldn't put Rukia through that kind of torture. No descent friend would put a person through _that_kind of torture. "_Pleeeease_?"

"Leave me alone already," Ichigo grumbled, "You're driving me insane. I am _not_inviting her, end of story. If you expect me to give in, _you're_insane," before anyone could protest, he stood up, "I'd better get going, I don't want to be late"

"Have a good day Ichi-nii!" Yuzu called after Ichigo as he shut the door. Isshin was still whining about how Ichigo was being a bad son and wouldn't listen to his papa. Idiot

But really, what did they expect? After all, him and Rukia were just friends, for one thing. How weird would it look if he invited her over? It'd be like bringing a girlfriend to meet the family. Which he_wasn't_! That was just insane.

And anyways, he wasn't that mean. He had to suffer through a Kurosaki family dinner every night, he wasn't about to put an innocent girl through one as well. Plus, Ichigo knew Isshin would be dropping hints about wanting grandchildren, and Ichigo didn't want to hear it. He knew Rukia wouldn't want to hear it either. The future was a touchy subject with her. _Everything_was a touchy subject with her. And after all, they had only _just_gotten their friendship back on track, Ichigo didn't want to screw it up again. He valued Rukia's friendship too much to do anything that could screw them over.

Ichigo shoved his hands into his pockets and bowed his head against the cruel, October wind. The weather, beautiful the week before, had gone down cold. If it were a little later in the year, Ichigo _might_have said it was going to snow. But instead the leaves were turning colors, and the wind was blowing said leaves away. It gave the street a very creepy, almost haunted look. Ichigo's mind drifted back to Rukia and dinner. No way. No way in _hell_

"Oi, Rukia!" okay, so he was out of his mind. That was something that had been confirmed a long time ago. But why was he chasing after the girl?

Rukia looked around. "Oh, hi Ichigo. What's up? Didn't see you during lunch today"

"Yeah, I was uh...in the library. Catching up on work," okay, only a half lie. He had been in the library avoiding Rukia. His resolve not to invite her to supper had faded fast. Because the truth was, he wanted her to come. He wanted her to meet his whack-job family. Because if she still wanted to be friends after meeting the place he came from, then that would prove a lot.

Okay, maybe it wouldn't. But he still wanted to invite her. "Er, anyways," he said quickly, "I was just wondering...I mean, my dad's been bugging me lately to invite you over to dinner. Would you like to? It's no big deal if you don't," he added quickly, feeling stupider by the minute. Rukia blinked, obviously thrown by Ichigo's babbling.

"Oh. Um..." she looked uncomfortable, "Don't take this the wrong way Ichigo, I'd love to but...I mean, I dunno. I have to ask my parents first"

"No big deal," Ichigo assured her. In a way he was kind of relieved, but at the same time he was disappointed. "It's all right if you don't want to, ya know"

Rukia smiled in an awkward sort of way. "Let me ask my mom, all right? I'll get back to you"

He scribbled down his number on piece of paper. She took it and started down the street. Ichigo almost smiled as he watched her. That hadn't been so bad.

-------------------------------------------00000000000000000000000000------------------------------------------

"Um...Mom?" Hisana looked around. Rukia shifted from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable. What, Hisana wondered, could make Rukia look so...lost?

"Yes?"

"Well I uh...I mean, I was invited to dinner at someone's house tonight," she spoke so quickly it was almost hard to understand, "Can I go?"

Hisana took a second to absorb the information (it was a surprise, really, she couldn't remember the last time someone had invited Rukia anywhere), then said, "Who's the friend? Anyone your father or I know?"

"Um...Kurosaki Ichigo"

Hisana had to work to suppress a smile. "Well in that case you have full permission to go. In fact, I _implore_you to go"

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh...I didn't think you'd say yes...I didn't really plan on going, you see..."

"Oh why not?" Hisana asked, putting her hands on her hips and giving her daughter a stern look, though inside she was laughing.

"I dunno...it'd be too weird...I mean, his family knows, how would they-"

"Rukia you need to take a night off from worrying," Hisana said firmly, "So here's what you're going to do. You're going to go upstairs, get changed, and go to Ichigo's. Sound good?"

Rukia was smart; she switched tactics fast, trying to hit Hisana's soft side. "What about you? Is Dad working late again?"

"Yes"

"Then you'll be alone"

"I think I can handle being alone for a few hours," Hisana sighed inwardly; her daughter sure was a stubborn one.

"Well..."

"Go on Rukia, it'll be fun," Hisana walked over to Rukia and gave the young girl a slight poke in the arm, "Do you remember what _fun_ is?"

"Barely"

"Then try and have some," she poked her again, "Go on, one night isn't going to kill you, is it? Just go to Kurosaki-kun's and try to enjoy yourself"

Rukia thought it over for a second, then smiled. "Yeah...all right. I will. I'll call him right now and let him know I can come"

Hisana left the kitchen to give Rukia some privacy. As soon as she was in the living room, she grinned. She'd forgotten how much fun it was to play matchmaker. When they were in high school, Byakuya had called Hisana a busybody, because she was always trying to set people up. But she hadn't been that bad at it, really; after all, she was the one that had introduced Isshin to Masaki.

"So what'd he say?" Hisana asked as Rukia left the kitchen. She was surprised at how _alive_the younger girl suddenly looked.

"Dinner's at seven"

"Well go change then. You don't want to be late, do you?"

--------------------------------------000000000000000000000000000000000-------------------------------------

"We get to meet Ichi-nii's new friend!" Yuzu said excitedly as she bounced around the kitchen. She was almost beside herself with delirious joy.

"_Friend_?" Isshin repeated, "Oh no Yuzu, they're definitely more – ow!"

The older man yelped as his son nailed him in the head. "Ichigo's mean!" Isshin whined. Ichigo sighed; he didn't live in a house, he lived an _asylum_.

Poor Rukia. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. Ichigo would have felt sorry for her, if _he_wasn't the one that had brought her into this.

_Ding-Dong_

"I'll get it!" Yuzu flew out of the kitchen. She got way too hyper when they had company over. She opened the door and said with a grin, "Hello!"

Ichigo sighed as he followed he and Karin followed Yuzu's lead walked out to the foyer. "Hi," Rukia was standing on the doorstep, looking mildly out-of-place, "I'm uh..."

"You're Rukia-chan, right?" Yuzu stepped aside and let Rukia in. "Hi! I'm Yuzu"

"Hey Rukia," Ichigo finally made his own presence known. Karin waved and gave a nod in Rukia's direction.

"Hi Ichigo," now she looked relieved, "Sorry I'm a little late, my dad kind of had a problem with me coming..."

"It's all right, dinner's running late anyway," Ichigo shrugged and at that moment Isshin barreled out of the kitchen as well.

"Hello!" he said enthusiastically. He froze when he saw Rukia, and with a look of mock surprise said, "I'm sorry, I was under the impression you were Ichigo's friend Rukia-chan, but you can't be, Ichigo isn't smart enough to pick up a girl like-"

The rest of his words were cut off by Ichigo's fist connecting with the side of his head. "If you're smart you'll get out of here while you still can, Rukia-chan," Karin said as she watched her brother and father fight, "We live here, we can't leave, but it's not too late for you"

"Oh it's not all that bad here Karin," Yuzu piped up, "As long as they stop soon, dinner's going to be ready in a few..."

She carefully stepped around the wrestling match and back to the kitchen, with Karin following. Rukia, her eyes locked on the brawl, followed the two girls. "Sorry about them," Yuzu said as Rukia entered the kitchen, "They're always like that, I'm not really sure why..."

"Because Dad's insane, that's why," Karin said. Rukia watched as Yuzu set to work at the stove; she was obviously the cook in the family. Rukia moved her hands around, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"Do you want any help?" Yuzu looked around in surprise.

"No, that's all right," she said with a smile, "Besides, you're a guest Rukia-chan, you shouldn't be helping-"

"I don't mind," Rukia said quickly, "I like feeling useful"

That said, she set to help the younger girl. She wasn't a very good cook, but she could do enough. "Oh...well, thanks!" Yuzu grinned, "It'd be nice to have some help, Karin doesn't like to cook and we don't trust Ichi-nii or Dad in the kitchen..."

A loud _crash_echoed from the living room. "And you can probably imagine why," Karin finished what her sister had started. Rukia laughed as she started to help. It was painfully obvious the family was a little...chaotic. But they were all really nice people. That was obvious too.

"So what did you mean before?" Rukia looked over at Yuzu, who was watching her with wide, curious eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"You said your dad had a problem with you coming over," Yuzu elaborated, "What did you mean?"

Rukia looked down at her hands, one of which was currently holding a knife; she was cutting carrots. "Oh that...well..."

----Flashback----

"_No," Rukia felt as if the floor had given out beneath her. Her dad was home early, not something she had expected. What she _had_expected, was that he would make it difficult for her to get out. And he was doing a fine job at that._

"_But Mom said-"_

_"No, Rukia"_

"_Byakuya, be fair," Hisana said reasonably, "She doesn't get out much, and besides, it's only for a few hours"_

_"If I haven't met him, then the answer is no"_

"I've_ met him," Hisana said firmly, "And I didn't have any problems with him. He seemed like a very polite boy to me. And I already told Rukia she could go"_

_Byakuya still looked extremely doubtful. "Please Dad?" Rukia wasn't sure why she was begging. She hadn't even wanted to go. But suddenly it seemed very important. She waited, her breath held, for Byakuya to pass judgment. If he said no..._

_Byakuya sighed. "I want you home by ten the latest"_

"_I will be, I promise!" Rukia smiled as she darted towards the door before Byakuya could changed his mind. She thought she heard her parents talking as the door closed behind her. But she didn't stop to pay attention._

----End Flashback----

The knife slipped. "Ow!" Rukia jerked back as the metal slid across her left index and middle fingers. Yuzu dropped her own knife at once and Karin jumped up. Ichigo and Isshin, who had both heard Rukia yell, halted their fight long enough to come and see who was hurt and how. "It's fine," she said, holding her fingers tightly, both trying and failing to step the blood. It made her stomach turn; she_hated_the site of blood. "Just a cut, it's nothing-"

"Let me look," Isshin stepped over and carefully pried her hand away so he could see the injury. It was a little worse than Rukia had first thought, it was bleeding badly; Rukia blinked quickly, trying her best not to look like she was going to throw up. Isshin wrapped it up a dish towel then brought Rukia down to the clinic so they could bandage up her fingers. Yuzu and Karin stayed behind in the kitchen to clean up, and Ichigo followed his dad. "Thank you Kurosaki-kun," Rukia said as Isshin finished wrapping her fingers up, "But it wasn't really that bad-"

"Better safe than sorry," Isshin said. Rukia thought this over for a second, then frowned. She knew exactly why they had seemed so worried.

"Well, thanks again," she said, not able to hide all of her annoyance as she left the clinic room. Ichigo, who had been leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, followed her out. Rukia was determined to ignore him though.

"What's with you?"

"_Look_," she turned to face him, ready to give him a piece of her mind, "I already _have_a family that worries about me constantly, I don't need another one. Why'd you have to go and shoot your mouth off to them about me?"

"I didn't!" Ichigo protested, "Not Yuzu and Karin anyway. They don't know anything. The only reason my dad knows is because he's the one who got the information for me...he's friends with your doctor, you see...but Yuzu and Karin don't have a clue about it, I swear. If they do, it's because they overheard my dad and I talking"

Rukia took a second to absorb this information. Yuzu and Karin didn't know? But they had looked so worried...

"You're sure they don't know?"

"_They don't know_," Ichigo rolled his eyes, "When I said I didn't tell anyone, I meant it. Don't you trust me?"

Rukia was surprised to hear herself say, "Yes. I do"

Ten minutes later they were all seated around the table, digging into Yuzu's delicious meal. "So, Rukia-chan," Isshin said as he ate, "You wouldn't by any chance happen to be related to Kuchiki Byakuya, would you?"

"Um, yeah," Rukia shifted her feet under the table, suddenly feeling_very_uncomfortable, "He's my father"

"You don't say!" Isshin looked honestly surprised, and Ichigo rolled his eyes; what a busybody. "So that would make your mother...Hisana, right?"

"Right again"

"Well what do you know," Isshin grinned in a goofy way, "Not many people had much hope for those two in high school, good to know they're still in love though...they're a real opposites attract story. Unless Byakuya's changed, which I doubt...he still a cold sorta guy?"

"That's him in a nutshell"

"Nope, hasn't changed at all"

Rukia was amazed by how much she enjoyed herself. Ichigo's family was...amazing, really. That was the only word for it. They were funny and kind, and they treated her exactly how she wanted to be treated: like she was just another person.

"Thanks a bunch for inviting me," Rukia said as Ichigo led her to the door

"No problem. Thanks for putting up with the madness"

Rukia laughed. "I actually had a lot of fun. You know it's-" she froze, eyes wide. She'd just caught site of the clock on the wall. "Oh_no..._"

"What's wrong?"

"It's ten-fifteen, I'm late!" she bolted without another word. Ichigo watched her run, wishing he'd had time to offer her a ride.

----------------------------------------------00000000000000000000000--------------------------------------------

By the time Rukia got home, it was almost ten-thirty. She hoped dearly her parents hadn't waited up. But as she walked into the living room, a light clicked on.

"You're late"

Rukia winced as she turned to face not just Byakuya, but Hisana as well. "I-I'm sorry," she said finally, "I lost track of time-"

"What happened to your fingers?" Hisana's voice took on it's usual concerned tone.

"Oh..." Rukia looked down at her bandaged fingers, "I uh...cut them, it was an accident-"

"You said you'd be home by ten," Byakuya cut in, "We thought you were responsible enough to follow your own curfew-"

"I am, really I am!" Rukia protested, "I told you, I lost track of time, I was just having so much fun and-"

"If this boy is going to prevent you from keeping up with your responsibilities," Byakuya cut his daughter off again. All though it was hard to tell, Rukia had a distinct feeling that he was mad. "Then I don't think he's the kind of person I want you socializing with"

Rukia's heart dropped like a stone through water. "N-No...I mean, it was an accident-"

"You should have called," Hisana – surprisingly – was the interrupter this time, "It would have been better if we had known-"

"I'm sorry-"

"_Sorry_isn't always going to be good enough, Rukia," Byakuya's voice had a 'final' sort of tone to it, "Go to your room"

Rukia did so without argument. She knew she was going to be in trouble come morning, she didn't want to make it worse for herself. But she didn't go upstairs. Instead she took up stake by the kitchen door, trying to listen to her parents, who were talking in low voices.

"Where did she go again?"

"I told you, Byakuya, she went to a friend's house"

"And that friend would be..."

"His name's Kurosaki Ichigo"

Byakuya's tone went frosty. "Kurosaki? He's not related to-"

"If he is?"

"_Hisana_..."

"Byakuya, he's okay," Hisana insisted, "Even if he _is_like his father, what was wrong with Isshin, exactly? I happened to like him, I was quite sad with when we lost contact-"

"I wasn't"

"Well you wouldn't be, you never liked him"

"This isn't about Isshin, or you, or me, Hisana," Byakuya said. Now he sounded really upset. "It's about Rukia. I'm not going to let her be around that boy if he's going to effect her-"

"Have a little faith, Byakuya. He's better than you think"

Rukia couldn't take it anymore. She bolted upstairs, careful not to let her door slam when she got into her room.

* * *

** Author's Note**: Well...I liked this chapter. What about you? Review and let me know! - Sam 


	9. 8 — Hospitals and Advice

**Miracles – VIII**

Rukia sighed as she played self consciously with the band-aid on her arm. If she ever had to make a list about the top ten ways to _not_spend a Saturday afternoon, "in the hospital" would definitely be on the top of the list.

She wasn't in for anything bad, of course. She just had an appointment. And Kaname Seiichi, her doctor, had a way of making even the simplest, most easiest test last for hours on end, and then of course came the whole "talking" bit. It was really quite annoying. Right now he was talking to her parents about how things were at home, was she taking her medicine, not doing anything too "strenuous", etc. No one in their right mind would ever believe Rukia was almost eighteen. Not the way her parents and her doctor treated her.

Her height – as Ichigo had pointed out on several occasions, and gotten hit for – probably didn't help the age argument either.

Ichigo. Rukia's icy thoughts melted just thinking about him. While Rukia would never deny that he was an ignorant, idiotic, downright clueless person at times, while it seemed like his trademark scowl _never _went away, while at times it was as if he was just a downright _unpleasant _person (Rukia would never sing his praises), there was a certain tenderness to Kurosaki Ichigo that just _tickled _Rukia. He had respected Rukia's wishes and treated her exactly how she wanted to be treated; like a normal, nothing-special friend. Rukia liked that. Most of the other kids in their class treated her like some kind of freak – even her so called _best friend, _Miyako. Rukia supposed it was kind of her fault; she still wouldn't tell them where she had gone last year. But exactly _how_was it anyone else's business anyway? And as for Miyako...she should have trusted Rukia anyway. They'd been friends since they were _three,_ after all.

Rukia shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. How had she gone from thinking about Ichigo to thinking about the jerks in her class?

"Kuchiki-san?" Rukia jumped and looked around at the door. Her face split into a wide grin.

"Hinamori!" Hinamori Momo grinned.

"Hey!" she bounced into the room and flopped down into the chair next to the bed Rukia was sitting on, "What are you doing back _here_ already?"

"Appointment"

Hinamori had been in the hospital for about six months. She had cystic fibrosis, and her home had become too dangerous for her to stay in. Her parents couldn't afford to get it fixed, because they were paying for all of Hinamori's hospital bills, so Hinamori had ended up in the hospital. She was a short girl, about two years younger than Rukia, with short brown hair, almost always in a bun, and deep black eyes. She was good-natured and hopeful, almost the exact opposite of Rukia.

"Oh. You're not here to stay for awhile?"

"God I hope not," Hinamori laughed. She and Rukia had become good friends during the time they spent together, but _no one _liked spending long amounts of time in the hospital.

"Oh! Shirou-chan came to visit earlier today," that was Hitsugaya Toshirou. He was about Hinamori's age, he'd come in at the beginning of the summer with a badly broken leg – he ended up getting surgery on it, and he was in the hospital for a month. Hinamori had a crush on him, and Rukia wasn't sure, but she had a feeling he liked Hinamori as well. "Well, he kind of came to visit, he had an appointment anyway, so he dropped in to see me – he's getting of his crutches soon!"

"Must be nice to know you're in the hospital for something that'll actually get better," even Rukia was surprised at how bitter her voice sounded. She didn't usually complain all that much about her leukemia.

"Aw, don't be like that Kuchiki-san," Hinamori said with a frown, "You never know what'll happen in the future. Someday they might find a cure for leukemia," then as an afterthought she added, "And cystic fibrosis"

Rukia smiled a little at that. Hinamori Momo, always hopeful. "Anyways, Shirou-chan says hi," Hinamori was talking again, "It's been awhile since he was able to get here, he didn't know you'd been discharged, I think he was surprised-"

"Why? I don't _live_here," the second the words were out of Rukia's mouth, she regretted them. But Hinamori didn't seem to mind.

"No, but you were here the entire time he was, I think he just got used to you being around..."

The girls fell silent. Hinamori swung her legs back and forth, then said, "So how are things going, anyway? With school, I mean"

The second she said _school_, Rukia lost it. "Terrible! Ever since I got back, everyone's treated me like I have some sort of deadly contagious disease, it's the worst! They're talking about me behind my back, even my so-called _best friend, _I actually think she _started _all of it, which just makes it worst, it's absolutely horrible, you're so lucky you don't have to deal with it!" Hinamori worked with the tutors in the hospital. She listened patiently through Rukia's rant, and afterwards the raven-haired girl felt a little better. She hadn't spoken to anyone else about it before; her parents insisted that everything would get better, and Ichigo knew about it, so there was no point in telling him.

"Rukia, do the kids at school _know_ you have leukemia?"

"One does," Rukia admitted sheepishly.

"Don't you think maybe you should tell them? I told my friends when I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, they were kind of surprised, of course, and weary, but they were okay with it," Hinamori lived one town over, and went to a different school. If she was in Karakura she never would have said something like that.

"Hinamori, it's different here, you're from a smaller community-" _and you didn't wait ten years. If I told anyone now..._

"Just tell your friends," Hinamori pushed, "They'll understand"

"One of my friends knows. He's-"

"_He_?!" Hinamori repeated in a high-pitched tone, "This isn't Abarai-kun we're talking about, is it?"

"No, someone in my class-"

Now Hinamori looked intrigued. Knowing where this was going, Rukia said in a stern voice, "Don't get any ideas, he's _just _my friend-"

"Of course," Hinamori said quickly, "But tell me about him anyway"

"His name's Kurosaki Ichigo..." it was hard, describing Ichigo to Hinamori. She seemed to get stuck on the fact that he had orange hair ("_Orange_?! Isn't that kind of a weird color?"), and Rukia just wasn't sure her description did Ichigo justice. But Hinamori accepted it.

"He sounds like a really great guy"

Rukia was surprised to hear herself say, "Yeah. He is," realizing how this sounded, she switched tracks, "Speaking of great guys, when are you and Hitsugaya-kun going to swallow your embarrassment?"

Hinamori turned bright red and giggled, "Kuchiki-_san_! There aren't many dating possibilities in a hospital, you know!"

"So?" Rukia enjoyed teasing the obviously embarrassed girl, "You can't stay here forever, you know, eventually you'll get out. Think he'll ask you out then?"

"Hinamori-san!" both girls looked up. Kotetsu Isane, one of the nurses, was standing in the door with her hands on her hip, looking stern.

"Oops," Hinamori blushed, "Hi Isane-san. Sorry, but I heard Kuchiki-san was here, I wanted to visit her-"

"It's all right," Isane sighed, "But next time tell me if you're going to leave, you know the doctor doesn't want you moving around that much-"

Hinamori and Rukia exchanged tolerant smiles. There were a lot rules in the hospital. "All right, all right," Hinamori stood up, "See you later Kuchiki-san. Try not to do anything that'll land you in here, okay?"

"Bye," Rukia swung her legs back and forth, bored, "Oh, Isane-san!" she called after the nurse, "Do you know if Ishida-san is working?"

"I think her shift starts soon!" Isane called over her shoulder. Rukia looked down at her watch; it was almost four. How much longer were her parents going to talk to the doctor already? She was really starting to get bored...

Ten minutes passed, and right when Rukia was getting ready to fall asleep (still sitting up, mind you) a new voice said excitedly, "Kuchiki-san!"

Rukia's violet eyes snapped open. Ishida Orihime was standing in the door of the room, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Hi Ishida-san," Rukia said, happy for a little more company.

"You look good," Orihime said happily as she walked into the room, "Oh, I just saw your parents, by the way, they're still talking with Doctor Kaname, but they should be done soon"

"Thank_ God_," Rukia sighed wearily as she fell back on the bed, "This was a complete waste of a day, you know? The only good thing is that I got to see Hinamori again"

"Oh you saw her?" Orihime asked, "Did she tell you she might be going home soon?"

Rukia bolted straight up. "What?! She never said anything!"

Orihime giggled. "She found out the other day. Her parents finally saved enough money to start fixing up the house and make it safer for her to be in. She was really excited when she found out, can't imagine why she wouldn't mention it-"

That annoyed Rukia a little. She would have liked to know that Hinamori would be able to go home soon. "It's actually not really that soon," Orihime was saying, "Probably four or five more months – I guess the house is in really bad condition...but it's something to look forward to!"

"Yeah, it is," Rukia agreed, "I'll have to find her before I leave, give her a little grief for not letting me in on the secret"

"So how've things been for you, Kuchiki-san?" Orihime sat down in Hinamori's vacated seat. Hisana hadn't been kidding before; the nurse had taken a liking to Rukia.

"Not bad," she wasn't about to talk about the school disaster again, "Kind of crazy, there are all these rumors going around about where I was last year – but I kind of expected that..."

Orihime nodded wisely. "Any boys you like hanging around?" that was the thing about Orihime. She was very straight forward. It was something that often bugged her about Rukia, who hated direct confrontations.

"Not exactly, no. I mean, there's one, but not the way I _know_ you're thinking-"

Orihime smiled mischievously. "You don't know _what _I'm thinking Kuchiki-san. So come on, who is he? Name, age, description, anything?"

"His name's Kurosaki Ichigo," Rukia gave in, "He's eighteen, he has orange hair, he's way too tall for his age – he says I'm too short though – and...why am I telling you this anyway?"

"How'd you meet him?"

"One day before school he decided to be really nosy and get involved where he didn't belong," Rukia explained what had happened with Ikkaku and Kenpachi. Orihime looked somewhere between horrified and amused.

"Does he know you have leukemia?"

"Unfortunately," Rukia told Orihime that bitter story, though she noticed that the nurse looked particularly smug about something, "What?"

"Kuchiki-san, how many kids at school know you have Leukemia?"

"Counting him? One," Rukia saw where Orihime was going, "Don't even think it. I told you, he only knows 'cause he's a nosy idiot who can't mind his own business. I certainly didn't _tell _him, if I had my way he'd have never found out, I swear"

"Maybe not," Orihime said, "But really Kuchiki-san, if you're okay with him knowing...doesn't that mean anything?"

"It means _he's _okay with it"

"Would it matter if he wasn't?"

"Only if he went shooting his mouth off to someone else"

Orihime still looked smug. "Well you know what I think?"

"No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me"

"_I_ think you like him"

"Of course I do, he's my friend"

"Not like that!"

"Well I don't like him like _that_!" Rukia said exasperatedly, "Honestly...why would I? He's obnoxious, he's nosy-"

"Oh Kuchiki-san," Orihime sighed, looking almost pitying, "Don't you know? Young love always stems from hate"

Rukia thought this over for a second. She wouldn't go as far as to say she_ loved _Ichigo, but...

"Ishida-san? What would you do if I said I_ do _like him?"

* * *

"You know, if you keep looking at me like that, your face might get stuck," Ichigo practically jumped out of his skin as Isshin's face appeared out of nowhere in front of him. Annoyed, the orange-haired teen punched his father in the face.

"Do you _have_ to do that?" Ichigo grumbled, "I can think of better things to see pop up in front of me than _your _ugly mug"

"You're so mean to your papa!" Isshin whimpered, "You should so me a little more respect!"

"You should act more like an adult," Ichigo muttered as he went back to his thoughts. He was sitting on the living room couch, mulling over a certain black-haired girl. She had told him quite a bit, but no matter what, she was still a bit of a mystery to him.

"You have an 'I'm having problems with girls' look," Isshin said knowingly, flopping down on the couch, "You want to talk about it?"

"Not with you"

Isshin frowned and folded his arms. "Hmn...let's see...you don't actually know that many girls, so I should be able to figure it out who it is...I know! It's Rukia-chan!"

"Why are you so annoying?"

"What's the problem?"

"I already said I'm not talking to you about it"

"Can't decide the best way to ask her out, huh?"

"Just go the hell away already!" Ichigo grabbed a throw pillow and flung it at his father's face. Isshin whined as he pushed the pillow away. "Why do you always have to-"

"Kuchiki-san isn't all that bad, is she?"

"She's jail-bait to you"

"I meant for you," Isshin's voice took on a serious voice, "A bit too serious for her own good though, I think. She needs you, Ichigo"

Ichigo had half a second to think this over before Isshin yelled, "And besides, I want grandchildren!"

Ichigo grabbed the nearest heavy object – a phone-book – and flung it at his father's face. Isshin whined loudly as his nose bled, and Ichigo stood up in a huff and stormed out of the room, hoping to find a quiet place in this asylum he lived in. Quiet. Right. Like that would ever happen.

* * *

Author's Note - I know, I know! It sucked, you don't have to tell me that. I just...wanted to get Rukia and Ichigo away from each other for a chapter so they could think about their feelings - as you can see. Oh whatever...just review - Sam 


	10. 9 — Parent's Night

**Miracle – IX**

Monday morning. Whispers followed Rukia down the hall. But they weren't the usual, questioning whispers wondering about her. They were more like excited, happy whispers. Rukia tried not to scowl as she made her way through the hall to class. What was _with_ everyone?

Ichigo went through similar treatment. Every-time he walked past someone, they turned to stare at him. It was starting to get old and annoying._ Fast_.

By lunchtime, the orange-haired teen was ready to _kill_ someone. "_Why_," he asked Keigo pointedly, "Is everyone _staring_ at me?"

Ichigo was beginning to understand how Rukia felt. "Well gee, I _wonder_," Keigo was shockingly bitter. Ichigo realized that the boy had been unnaturally quiet all day.

"What's _your _problem?"

Keigo was quiet for a minute, then said, "I just can't believe you would do that to me Ichigo!"

Ichigo was utterly bewildered by this. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Kuchiki-san, of course!" Keigo was obviously upset, "You knew I wanted to ask her out!"

Ichigo_ still _didn't understand. "What the hell-?"

"You!" Keigo yelled, "You and Kuchiki-san!"

"What about us?"

"You asked her out!" Keigo was practically crying now. Ichigo blinked.

"What the fuck? I never asked her out, who told you _that?_"

* * *

"Miyako," Imko Miyako looked up from her lunch, and found herself facing Kuchiki Rukia, who was both trying and failing to conceal her anger. 

Miyako tried to smile. "Hi Rukia. What's up?"

"Can we talk?" Miyako gave her friends a wave, then stood up and followed the agitated girl. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was wrong. Miyako decided to try and have a little fun with it though.

"Been hearing some interesting things Rukia. What's this about you and Kurosaki-kun?" Unsurprisingly, that was all it took. Rukia had been ready to snap anyway.

"It's_ nothing_!" she shouted, "I can't believe you would...jeez Miyako...exactly_ what _gives you the right to spread rumors like _that_?"

"Not just me," Miyako said in her defense, "Kiyone too, she's the one that heard Kurosaki-kun invite you over to his house. We were talking about it, and some other kids heard us, and it just spread from there. So come on, what's the story?"

While Rukia tried to come up with an answer. Miyako gave her old friend a once over. She'd always been a naturally small and thin person, and Miyako had long grown use to the unnatural violet color of her eyes. So then why did something seem so _different_ about Kuchiki Rukia?

"No one asked your opinion, Miyako," Rukia's voice was low and barely controlled, "And _nothing _gives you the right to ruin my life like this. Just _what _is your problem anyway?"

The irony of this hit Miyako hard. "You're one to talk"

"What is _that _supposed to mean?"

"It means you have your secrets and I have mine," Miyako turned to walk away before Rukia could answer.

* * *

Rukia was so mad she could barely see straight. More than once through the course of the afternoon, after her talk with Miyako, the violet-eyed girl nearly walked into someone, or _did_ walk into someone. She just couldn't believe _Miyako_ of all people would turn around and betray her like that. Miyako, who had been her friend since the age of three. Miyako who, along with Renji, had been Rukia's best friend since they were _three freakin' years old. _Why did Miyako have to make everything so freaking difficult? 

The sound of a ringing phone reached Rukia's ears as she walked into the house. She dropped her books on the coffee table and darted into the kitchen, grabbing the phone on it's fourth ring. "Hello?" she grumbled into it.

"Yeah, nice to hear from you too," Rukia brightened at once.

"Hey Renji. So your fingers aren't broken then?"

You could call me just as easily"

"I'm _always _the caller," Rukia smiled just a bit. It was nice to be sitting there, having a nice, normal conversation. She looked around and found a note on the table, scrawled in her mother's neat handwriting, saying she'd run to the store and would be back soon.

"Whatever. So what's up?"

"Right back atcha," Renji _never _called without a reason or ulterior motive.

"Busted," she could almost _see _Renji's smirk, "Look...I just got off the phone with Miyako. She didn't seem to happy"

"_She_ didn't seem to happy?" Rukia repeated in a disbelieving voice, "_I'm_t he one who's life she's ruining, what's _she _so upset about?!"

"Gah..." Renji sounded flustered, "Look, don't get me mixed up in this, especially if it's a girl thing. I just wanted to know what went down between you two"

"The difficulties of having two girls be your best friends," Rukia proceeded to tell Renji about what Miyako had done at school.

"Who's Ichigo?"

"Shut up," Rukia said tiredly, "Anyways, when I tried to talk to her about it, she made it seem like _she_ was the victim-"

"How so?"

"Said something about how I keep secrets-"

"Well don't you?"

"I guess, yeah, but-"

"Riddle me this Rukia," the girl stopped talking, "Why is it you had no problem telling _me_you have Leukemia, but you can't bring yourself to tell _Miyako_? She's your best friend too, you know, I'm pretty sure all best friends have equal rights"

Rukia – unsurprisingly – had an answer to this. "It's different. My mom told your mom, and your mom told you, that's how you found out. No one ever told Miyako's parents though, and besides..."

"Besides?" Renji prompted her.

"Besides...you live further away, I could deal with it more," Rukia sighed, "I don't see you everyday like I do Miyako"

"Figured as much," Renji sighed, "You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if someone actually took _pity _on you, would you Rukia?"

"Good_bye _Renji," Rukia slammed the phone down in a huff.

"Have you ever noticed that you _argue_ with your friends more than you talk with them?" and of course, Kuchiki Hisana chose _that _moment to walk into the kitchen. She had absolutely terrible timing. And at the moment, she sounded rather amused.

"No, it's just fun to hang up on Renji"

"Whatever you say," Hisana set a couple of bags down on the table, "Help me put this stuff away, would you?"

Rukia complied. "So why didn't you tell me?" Hisana asked as they put things into their respective cabinets.

"About..."

Hisana pointed to a piece of paper on the counter. "It came in the mail today. Something going on at your school. Parents' Night"

"Never heard of it"

* * *

Ichigo groaned as he looked the flier over. "Dad, you're not really going to go to this, are you? I mean, you've been every year since I started-" 

"Yeah, but it's fun, going there and embarrassing you in front of all your little classmates," Isshin grinned and Ichigo crumpled up the flier, feeling annoyed, "And anyways, I want to see your little girlfriend again-"

"Shut up," Ichigo threw crumpled up paper at his father. It didn't have any effect, which he expected, but it did shut him up for a minute.

Parents' Night was the one night during the entire school year that all the parents could get together, find out what's going on in their kid's school, and embarrass the hell out of said kid all at the same time. It really wasn't as pleasant as it sounded. Every year Isshin had found a new way to embarrass his orange-haired son. And Ichigo was_ positive _that this year wouldn't be any different. But of course, he couldn't control his father. So at eight o'clock, the two were walking into Karakura High (Yuzu and Karin had opted against the trip, knowing they'd have to deal with it _next_ year, when _they _started at the school).

Smart girls

"Ichigo!" the familiar voice of Rukia reached Ichigo's ears. He turned around, relieved for an excuse to get away from his father for a minute. But fate was cruel, as was Kurosaki Isshin.

Before Ichigo could say hi, his father butted in. "Rukia-chan! Good to see you again!"

"Hello Kurosaki-kun," Rukia bowed respectively, and Ichigo took a look at the two people who were standing behind her. He recognized her mother instantly. The other person was a tall man, with black hair and a cold, uncaring look on his face. It had to be Kuchiki Byakuya.

Hisana smiled when she saw Ichigo's father. "Hello Isshin. It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"That it has Hisana, that it has," Isshin sighed contently, "And hello to you too of course, Byakuya. Been doing well, I see"

Byakuya just kind of nodded. "Well," Ichigo said, trying to hid his annoyance, "If you guys are going to have a reunion, I think I'll get out of your way. Coming Rukia?"

"Er..." Rukia looked over her shoulder at her parents, then back at Ichigo, then at her parents again. She seemed unsure. Hisana gave her daughter a nod though, and Rukia said, "Yeah. Coming"

She took a couple of awkward steps towards Ichigo. When her father didn't say anything (which was what she was probably expecting) she moved more easily, and she and Ichigo started down the hall together.

Byakuya glared at the backs of the retreating teens the entire way. "I don't like him"

"_He's_ my son, Byakuya," Isshin said in a pointed voice.

"Which is exactly _why _I don't like him," Hisana sighed wearily. Isshin and Byakuya hadn't been..._friends_ exactly in high school. The only reason they had ever interacted at all was because Hisana and Masaki had been best friends, and after Hisana had set Masaki and Isshin up, he'd hung around them a lot. Byakuya had never _quit _forgiven Hisana for that one.

"Ah Byakuya. You don't change, do you?"

"He'd better not hurt her Kurosaki"

"He's not that kind of person Byakuya," Isshin said, a note of anger in his voice, "Maybe you haven't noticed, but he cares about her. Sorry if that isn't good enough for you"

Byakuya looked ready to retort, but Hisana cut in, grabbing her husband's arm and pulling him away. "Will you excuse us for a second?" she said kindly to Isshin. Byakuya threw his old classmate a look that would have killed a lesser man. "One night of peace," Hisana begged Byakuya quietly, "That's all I'm asking. When we're at home, it's you and Rukia arguing. Please, just give me one night with no fights, okay?"

Byakuya threw Isshin another glare. Then, sighing, said, "All right. One night. For you. But if he says anything-"

"I know, I know, he'll regret it," Hisana sighed and shook her head, suddenly feeling like she was back in high school.

* * *

"Did anyone else notice the tension?" Ichigo asked conversationally as he and Rukia made their way down the hall. 

"Between..."

"Your parents, my father"

"Oh yeah. Noted"

Ichigo shoved his hands into his pockets, sighing. He remembered what Hisana had said about knowing knowing Isshin back in high school. Apparently they hadn't been the best of friends. The tension in the air had definitely been thick.

"So what's this Parents' Night thing all about anyway?" Rukia changed the topic, thankfully. Ichigo explained the thing about parents gathering to embarrass there kids. Rukia laughed and asked if that included getting into fights in the entrance hall. Ichigo relished in the wonderfulness of this. He was there, walking with Rukia like they were the only two in the world. It was all so pleasant, so...normal. It was a rare moment that Ichigo wanted to enjoy. So of course, it didn't last long, as nothing in Ichigo's life ever did.

"Ichigoooo!" Keigo flew at him suddenly, tackling him from behind. Ichigo punched his annoying friend out.

"What the hell are you doing here?! You don't even _have_ parents!"

"Um..." Rukia was trying not to giggle, "I'll be right back, Ichigo, I'm just going to run to the bathroom real quick"

Ichigo glared at her back, then whirled around and punched Keigo again, just to take out his anger. It made him feel a little better.

* * *

Rukia burst out laughing as soon as she rounded the corner. Keigo and Ichigo were probably the oddest friendship in the history of the world. She wasn't sure _how_they'd ended up friends, but they had. It was amazing. "Whatcha laughin' 'bout, Kuchiki?" she froze as she looked around. The corridor she was in was empty, save for two people other than her. Kenpachi and Ikkaku. The latter, she noticed, had a bandage around his leg (he was wearing shorts). 

"Wow, I did a number on your leg, huh?" she laughed, "Imagine explaining that to all your buddies. 'Oh, what happened to my leg? A girl three times shorter than me took me out'. That's embarrassing, isn't it?"

"Shut up," Ikkaku spat. Kenpachi smirked.

"I told you this wasn't over, didn't I Kuchiki?" he growled, stepping forward. Rukia glared up at him.

"Yeah, but guys like you _always_ say you'll call"

"Well, I'm a guy of my word," Kenpachi grinned evilly, "And there's no Kurosaki here to protect you this time. What _ever_ will you do?"

"I'll survive," Rukia assured him, "Give me your best shot"

But just as Kenpachi stepped forward, a wave of dizziness washed over her. _Oh crap, _she thought, dazed, as she raised a hand to her head. She'd forgotten to take her medicine before she left. "What's wrong?" Kenpachi sneered, "You were ready to have it out a second ago, lose your nerve or somethin'?"

Rukia tried to recover her ground again, but Kenpachi was already swinging his fist. She waited for it to connect with her...

But then someone was in front of her, grabbing the fist with his hand. Someone with spiky orange hair and a scowl that would scare a lesser man to death. "I told you not to mess with her Zaraki," Ichigo growled. He twisted Kenpachi's arm and swung him into Ikkaku. The two flew into a wall, Ikkaku crushed under Kenpachi's bulk.

"You bastard," Kenpachi growled, pulling himself up, "Mind your own freakin' business Kurosaki"

"Sorry, that's not something I do all that easily," Ichigo said, stepping forward.

"Ichigo get _out_ of here," Rukia hissed as her dizziness passed, "I don't _need_ you to rescue me, you know-"

"Yeah, ya kinda do," was all Ichigo had time for before Kenpachi attacked again. He flew forward. Ichigo grabbed Kenpachi just before he was about to strike and, using his momentum, swung and threw him away. He hit the ground with a loud _crash_. "Now," Ichigo growled, standing over Kenpachi, "You gonna leave her alone?"

"Shut up Kurosaki," Kenpachi said angrily, standing up.

"You just don't learn, do you?" Ichigo swung his fist. It met Kenpachi's nose. There was a weird cracking noise as it broke. "Now, as I was saying-"

"What's going on here?" Ichigo and Rukia both whirled around, and found themselves facing Kuchiki Byakuya and Hisana. And Ichigo realized how odd this scene must have looked. Ikkaku crumpled against the wall, groaning feebly. Kenpachi on the floor holding his nose, swearing vehemently and threatening Ichigo. Rukia winced, obviously realizing the same thing.

"Um...hi Mom, hi Dad"

"Rukia, what's going on?"

"It's uh...well...you know..." she didn't have an answer. Ichigo bit his lip. This _certainly_ wasn't going to win him any points with Rukia's parents.

"Rukia," Byakuya spoke sternly, "We're leaving. Come on"

Rukia complied at once, her head bowed. "See you tomorrow," she muttered to Ichigo as she bustled passed him. Her parents allowed her to pass before turning away themselves. Byakuya gave Ichigo a look of detest as he turned.

"Worst Parent's Night ever"

* * *

**Author's Note –** Um...just review 


	11. 10 — Icy Conditions

**Miracle – X**

The next day was an awkward one for Ichigo and Rukia. The former was desperate to ask the latter what her parents had said to her after they left the school. But that would have been prying to a degree even _he_ knew wasn't right. And she wasn't volunteering the information. So he kept his mouth shut about it. But he _really_ wanted to know. Kuchiki Hisana had been quite friendly with Ichigo. Kuchiki Byakuya didn't know him. What were their opinions of him _now_?

Rukia bustled from class to class, keeping her head down, avoiding all stares necessary. Everyone had seen Kenpachi's nose in an odd, bandage-cast thing, and of course, news spread quickly around Karakura High, so everyone knew who had broken it and why. People kept stopping to try and ask Rukia questions, but she moved forward, ignoring them. It didn't earn her any points with the kids in her class, of course, but she didn't care. She'd gone through interrogations enough in the car the night before, most of the questions shot at her from Byakuya, who now seemed interested in every detail of his daughter's life. Rukia noted the irony, and thought bitterly that she'd have to get into trouble more often, if it got her father's attention that easily.

Hisana, meanwhile, seemed quite torn. On the one hand, she knew Ichigo, unlike Byakuya (who knew next to nothing about his daughter's life), and up until last night she found him to be quite a nice young man. But the look on her face when she'd seen what Ichigo did to Kenpachi (and what she thought he did to Ikkaku) definitely expressed a change in her opinion. Rukia knew she should have said something to convince her parents that Ichigo was really okay, but by the time her father stopped talking, they were home, and she was exhausted and wanted to sleep. And she knew it wasn't best to confront her father right after a...confrontation. So she took her pills (after a short but stern lecture from Hisana about how she should have been more responsible) and went to bed, deciding she would talk to her father the next day, when he'd had time to calm down a little and think over what had happened more rationally.

Until that time, Rukia could only hope that Byakuya didn't make any rash, but somehow scarily accurate decisions. When Kuchiki Byakuya decided something, he stuck with it. So if he decided he didn't like Ichigo...well, then he didn't like Ichigo. And Rukia would _never _be able to change his mind.

Ichigo sighed as he thought about the advice his father had given him during the ride home last night. The orange-haired teen had made the mistake of telling Isshin what had happened with Kenpachi, Ikakku, Rukia, and her parents. His father's advice was anything if not helpful.

----Flashback----

"_So, heard there was a little trouble on campus," Isshin said as they drove home. Ichigo winced; he had hoped his father _hadn't_ heard anything._

"_Yeah?"_

_"You broke some guy's nose? What exactly was he doing?"_

"_You mean _besides _the fact he was trying to hurt Rukia?"_

"_Ah..." Isshin nodded knowingly, "I see how it is. Go after the sick girl approach. You got some good guys in your school, don't you ?"_

"_Uh huh," Ichigo sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "There's just one problem. Her parents stepped into the scene right after I finished breaking Zaraki's nose"_

"_Oooh," Isshin nodded again. Ichigo really wished he would stop. "I see. Guessing her parents didn't take too kindly to seeing you break someone's bone?"_

"_I'm not really sure _how_they took it, actually," Ichigo admitted, "I mean, her mom looked kind of scared...her dad just looked pissed"_

"_Gotta expect that from Kuchiki Byakuya," Isshin said with a grin, "He's probably not gonna be too fond of you now, better watch out, might complicate your chances for a relationship with his daughter if he doesn't like ya-"  
_

"_Oh shut up," Ichigo grumbled, folding his arms angrily and leaning back in the seat, "I don't _want _a relationship with his daughter. I also don't want him to hate me though..."_

"_Ah well," Isshin smirked, "Too bad. I suppose if you wanted you and Rukia-chan could always just elope-"_

_"Shut up!"_

"_All right, all right. You want some advice Ichigo?"_

_"Not really"_

_"Well I give it to you anyway," Isshin sounded smug, "Kuchiki Byakuya doesn't like anyone, except his wife and – I'd say -his daughter. If you're going to aim for his approval, you're going to be waiting for a long time. So instead of trying to get 'im to like you, just worry about making sure his _daughter_ is still interested. Then you'll be set"_

_At that moment, they pulled into the driveway. Ichigo took advantage of this and slapped his father as hard as he could over the head._

----End Flashback----

Yeah. Definitely not helpful. Ichigo sighed wearily as he ran a hand through his spiky orange hair. He wasn't worried about what Kuchiki Byakuya thought of him. He was worried of what Kuchiki Byakuya might say to Rukia, worried that he would convince her that Ichigo was a bad person to hang around. Ichigo might not have had personal feelings for the girl, but she was a good friend, and Ichigo wanted her to stay that way. If Byakuya had his way though, the friendship thing would definitely change.

And Ichigo didn't take kindly to change

* * *

For a minute, all Rukia could do was stare. She reached blindly behind her and clutched tightly to the kitchen counter. She gaped soundlessly at her father, who stared back unconcernedly. "W-What?" she finally managed to say, breathing hard, "Dad...no, you can't...please, don't-" 

"That's my final decision, Rukia," Byakuya said coldly, "I don't want you seeing that boy – Kurosaki Ichigo – anymore"

"Dad, you've got it all wrong, please, don't," Rukia was practically begging. She couldn't help it; she was desperate. If her father was really saying that...

Hisana looked between her daughter and her husband, obviously torn. "There's no more to say, Rukia," the tone of Byakuya's cold voice didn't change, "He's obviously not a good person, I don't want you interacting with people like that-"

"You don't understand!" Rukia said angrily, "How could you, you don't _know _him!"

"I know where he comes from," Byakuya said simply, "I know his father, that's enough. I don't want you with him anymore. Understand?"

"No, I don't," Rukia struggled not to show her tears. She knew they wouldn't help her 'I'm-old-enough-to-choose-my-own-friends' argument at all. "I _don't_ understand. At all. I don't understand how you can try and live my life _for me_! How you can decide who my friends, how you just _know _that what you're doing is completely right!"

She was shaking now, but paid no mind to it. It was more from anger than anything. She couldn't believe her father was putting her through this. This was the first time she'd been able to be completely close and honest with a friend in _ten years_, and now her father was telling her she couldn't _be_ with said friend anymore. Just who did he think he was anyway? "This is what's best for you," Byakuya said simply, "You'll understand someday"

"No," Rukia said quietly, "I don't think I will, actually"

She whirled around on her heel and darted upstairs, unable to look her father in the eye anymore. As soon as she was in her room she slammed the door and leaned her back against it, sliding down to the floor and burying her face in her knees, allowing her tears to fall. He couldn't do this to her...she wouldn't _let _him do this to her...

Rukia raised her eyes to look out the window, and was surprised to find it snowing quite heavily. When had that started? Not bothering to lock her door, she pushed herself up and walked over to the window. Apparently it had been snowing for awhile; the white powder had already built up quite a bit on the roads and sidewalks and everything else. She opened the window, and a frigid breeze slammed into her. In someway, it felt good. She stared out for a second, contemplating...

* * *

As soon as Rukia's door slammed, Hisana looked around. She hadn't been able to get a word in edge-wise while Byakuya and Rukia had been arguing, but as long as they weren't going to have a round two... 

"Don't give me that look," Byakuya said, catching his wife's slight glare.

"Don't you think you're acting a little rashly?" Hisana decided to try for reasonable first. It was always better to be reasonable than irrational. Something her husband really needed to learn.

"No, I don't think I'm acting rashly at all, actually," Byakuya said, turning away, "There are better people to associate with than a Kurosaki-"

"You're basing your opinion on a boy based on who he's related to," Hisana said, "How is that fair?"

"The apple never falls far from the tree"

"Then why is it that Rukia is so much more reasonable then you are?" the words slipped out before Hisana could stop them. Byakuya didn't seem at all put off by them though.

"I'm not being _unreasonable_, Hisana, I'm being practical"

"Somehow, I have a feeling they're the same thing in your case"

"I don't trust him-"

"He's an eighteen-year-old boy, Byakuya"

"Exactly. I know how his mind works-"

"Which means you _must_ know that he'll grow out of it"

"Did you see what he did to that boy? It was completely-"

"Reasonable when I think about the fact that the boy was threatening Rukia," Hisana cut in, "Come on Byakuya, it's not like you didn't make stupid choices when _you_were a teenager"

"Name one time," Hisana blinked. Rukia had said the _exact same thing _when she had gone through her 'ten-year-old-rebel' stage. Good God, those two really _were_ alike...

"Name one time? Well, if you insist"

----Flashback----

"_Good movie," Hisana said dreamily as she leaned on Byakuya's arm, smiling. It was a typical evening for the teenage couple. Neither of them liked being home much, so they tried to spend their nights together, only going home when their curfews had been completely pushed right to the limits._

"_Yeah, it was," Byakuya wrapped his arm around her shoulder and drew closer (which was hard, considering she was already close). He looked down at his watch and sighed. "I really, _really_ hate to say it, but..."_

_"We should get home," Hisana sighed deeply as well, "Yeah, I guess. Do we have to?"_

_"I wish we didn't," neither of them liked being home. At all. "Well, I suppose we could always...stay out a little later..."_

_Hisana smiled. "That's always a good idea too"_

_They got onto the main street, and were surprised to find it crowded. It was past ten, after all, usually there wasn't much business after ten on the main street of Karakura Town. "Better be careful," Byakuya said, "We don't want to get separated..."_

_They started down the street, trying to stay close to each other. They were jostled quite a bit by the crowds, but managed to stay close. Until a particularly large crowd came their way. _That _was when they got separated. "Oh no," Hisana groaned, "Byakuya, where'd you-"_

_A hand shot out of the alley next to where Hisana was standing, and dragged her in. "Ow! Let go-" a large, dirty hand covered her mouth completely, "Mmffm," she struggled against the large hands angrily holding her._

"_Quiet down girly," a man hissed in her ear, "Don't want your pretty little boy toy comin' and lookin', now do we?"_

_Hisana's eyes widened in shock, and she struggled harder against the man's grip. "Calm down now, I ain't gonna hurtcha. Not yet, anyway..."  
_

_He pushed her against the wall, careful to keep a hand over her mouth, and started tracing a finger along her shoulder with his other hand._Stop, stop, _Hisana begged silently. But she couldn't say anything out loud, of course. "Don't worry, it'll be over soon..." he drew a knife. Hisana nearly stopped breathing, and began thrashing in the man's grip. "Stop it!" the man growled. He brought the knife up and drew the very tip along the sleeve of her shirt, ripping it just a little. He dug his finger into the grip and tore it a little bit more. "Now then – agh!"_

_A fist connected with the guy's cheek, and he was thrown away from Hisana. She slid down the wall she had been pushed against, gasping for breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Byakuya walk towards the man and pick him up by the throat. The guy struggled and gasped for air. "You...bastard..."_

_"Don't you _ever,_" Byakuya growled, "Let me see you touch her, or any other person like that _ever again. _Understand?"_

_The man nodded, and Byakuya flung him to the ground. "Now _go_"_

_He scampered away. Byakuya glared after him for a second before walking over to Hisana and kneeling down beside her. "Are you okay?"_

_That was all it took. Hisana, still shaking, buried her face in Byakuya's chest and began crying. Byakuya wrapped his arms tightly around her trembling body and drew her closer. "It's okay," he muttered, "It's all right. I'm here. I'll protect you. I promise"_

----End Flashback----

"That was different," Byakuya said coldly, "You were in danger. I was trying to protect you"

"And just _how_is that any different from what Kurosaki-kun was doing?" Hisana was sure she had gotten her point across. Apparently not though.

"I just want what's best for her"

Hisana snapped. "Best for her?! Byakuya, how can you possibly know what's best for her? You spend so much time working, you don't even _know _her!"

The second the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. Byakuya turned around to stare coldly at her. But Hisana could see the hurt in his eyes. "Hisana. Do you know _why _I work so hard? I work hard to be able to _provide _for you, and for Rukia. I may not always be around, but I'm the provider for this family"

"You don't get it, Byakuya," Hisana said quietly, "Rukia doesn't _need_ you to be a provider. Not right now. She needs you to be a _father_. She needs you to be there for her like you used to be, she needs you to tell her that everything will be okay. Like you used to. Before she got sick"

"What Rukia _needs_," Byakuya said, "Is a dose of reality. Someone just _saying _everything is going to be okay doesn't mean it will be"

"Maybe not. But it'll make her feel better"

Hisana turned and walked upstairs. She'd left Rukia alone long enough. The poor girl needed to know that _someone_was on her side. "Rukia?" Hisana knocked lightly on her daughter's door, "Rukia, I know your upset, but please...just talk to me, okay?"

She turned the doorknob, surprised to find it unlocked, and step inside. She was greeted by a blast of cold air, an open window, and an empty room. Her eyes widened in shock. Oh God...

"Byakuya!"

* * *

**Author's Note**: So I've recently come into some time off, thanks to the snow. I'm on my second day of fully missed school (I missed about half of Friday and all of Thursday). And I never thought I'd say this, but I want to go back. The only good thing is, it gives me time to write. So, good, bad, or stop-writing-already-I-want-to-claw-my-eyes-out-from-reading-this-terrible-story? Let me know, review! - Sam 


	12. 11 — Out in in the Storm

**Miracle – XI**

The snowy, icy wind stung Rukia's half-closed eyes. She tilted her head upwards a little, squinting her eyes. The road ahead was nothing but white though. She couldn't even tell if she was going in the right direction. Shivering from the cold, she pulled tightly at her jacket, wrapping it more securely around her small body. She pushed on, hoping and praying this was the right way to the Kurosaki house – in this weather, one lost all sense of direction.

The world spun before Rukia's eyes and at the same time a particularly sharp wind blew, assaulting her lungs. She doubled over coughing, and her knees hit the ground. "N-No," she managed to choke out through chattering teeth, "Can't...stop..."

She sank her hand deep into the snow as she pushed herself up, then pushed said hand into her pocket in an attempt to get some feeling back into it. That didn't work out too well. Still shivering, she pushed forward, keeping her head bowed against the snow, wishing she had grabbed a hat and gloves. Too late for that now though; she doubted she could even find her way back to her house if she wanted to.

She hadn't gone far when another gust of wind slammed into her. She stumbled and fell into a snowbank she had been walking by. "No..." she whispered as she closed her eyes closed, "_No_...Ichi...go..."

* * *

Ichigo grabbed the phone on it's fourth ring, grumbling about how no one else seemed to know how to answer. "Hello?" 

There was a moment of silence, then a fragile-sounding voice said, "Is this Kurosaki Ichigo?"

The voice – a female – didn't sound at all familiar. "Uh...yeah. Who's this?"

"Oh thank God," the woman said, "This is Kuchiki Hisana. Have you seen Rukia?"

Ichigo blinked. What in the world? "Kuchiki-san? No, I haven't seen her since school today..." he found this to be a rather odd question. He looked out the window. There was a blizzard going on out there, surely she would be home. "Why?"

Hisana said, in a distressed voice, "She had a fight with her father and she ran to her room, I guess she snuck out the window when Byakuya and I were talking...he's out looking for her now, but he just called and he said he couldn't find her...I thought maybe she'd go to your house..."

"Why would she come here?"

"Well..." Hisana sounded hesitant now, "The fight was...well, it was about you, really"

Ichigo looked out the window again. The snow was flying. The wind was blowing the limbs of the tree outside the window. They looked like they were ready to break off at any moment. Ichigo's hear was beating fast now. "Kuchiki-san?"

"Yes?"

"Do you really think Rukia would come here?"

"It's the only place I can think of. I'd say she'd go to her friend Miyako's if the two weren't fighting..."

That was all it took. The phone flew out of Ichigo's hands as he darted into the front hallway and started throwing his jacket and boots on. "Ichigo?" Isshin had been standing by the kitchen door, listening to his son's end of the conversation. Ichigo ran out without answering his father's unasked question. Isshin picked up the phone his son had dropped. "Hello? Who is this?"

Ichigo shielded his eyes as he started pushing his way through the snow that came up to his knees. He hadn't realized the storm was this bad. Of course, watching it from the window and actually being out in it were two different things. Ichigo swore angrily. "Dammit Rukia...if you're out in this, I'm going to kill you. What kind of idiot goes out in weather like this?"

What kind of idiot? Kuchiki Rukia, of course. Only someone as _bone-headed _as her would go out in a blizzard. Ichigo swore again, suddenly hating this entire situation. And the worst part was, even in his own neighborhood, he felt completely lost. The blizzard really threw off a person's sense of direction. And if he was lost, Rukia – who lived blocks away – would never be able to find her way around.

"Dammit!" Ichigo swore and kicked angrily at snow pile, sending the white powder flying. It was almost ten at night. This wasn't how he had planned to spend his evening. But then again, things didn't always work out as planned.

* * *

Kuchiki Byakuya didn't worry. He was sometimes curious, often wondered about things, and maybe at times he was a little inquisitive about the nature of something. But worry? Kuchiki Byakuya didn't worry. Worry wasn't necessary. It was a useless emotion, one that would bring no peace to a person's mind, would not help in a situation, would not do_ anything_, except distract a person. 

And yet, somehow...he was worried. Worried for the safety of his daughter, her health. He didn't like the feeling of worry, didn't like the way it made him feel. He could only remember three or four other times he had been truly worried. And – ironically enough – the last time had been for Rukia as well.

_**-:-:-:-:-Flashback – Ten Years Earlier-:-:-:-:-**_

_Byakuya sighed as he tapped away wearily at his keyboard. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, Rukia had a tendency to toss and turn in her sleep, especially when she was sick. But Hisana could never say no to the little girl (nor could Byakuya for that matter), so of course, she'd been allowed to stay with them last night._

"_Kuchiki-sama?" Byakuya blinked as his secretary's voice rang through the speaker next to his phone, "Your wife is on line one"_

_Byakuya grabbed the phone and picked it up as he said, "Thank you. What's wrong Hisana?"_

_Hisana spoke in an extremely quiet voice, even for her. "Byakuya, the doctor called about half and hour ago"_

_Byakuya blinked again. Doctor? Oh. Right. Rukia was sick. Wow, he _really _needed some sleep. "And? What did he say?"_

_Hisana sounded very upset. It _had_ to be something bad. "It's...It's not really something that seems_ right _to talk about over the phone..."_

_Oh yeah. It was bad. "Just _tell_ me Hisana"_

"_Rukia..." Hisana took a deep breath, "Rukia...has Leukemia, Byakuya"_

_It took Byakuya a second to fully process this. The last word didn't get through until almost a full minute after Hisana said it. "Wait..._what_?"_

"_Byakuya, please don't make me repeat it," his wife sounded close to tears now. Byakuya took a deep breath, trying to calm himself a little._

"_Oh...God..."_

"_What...Byakuya, what are we going to do?"_

"_I – I honestly don't know," Byakuya sighed and rested his head in his free hand, "Hisana, does Rukia know?"_

"_Unfortunately," Hisana still sounded distressed, "She was just waking up when he called. She's terrified now, I finally got her to fall asleep about ten minutes ago. She's so scared. All she keeps asking is if she's going to die. Do you have any idea how hard it is to hear an eight-year-old ask if she's going to die?"_

_Byakuya could imagine. Not that he wanted to. "God...Rukia...poor Rukia..."_

_Byakuya wasn't much of a person for pity. It wasn't useful. But at that moment, pity was really the only thing he could do. He was too far away to be of any comfort, to his wife _or_ his daughter. "I'm coming home," he knew that would be a surprise to Hisana. He was right._

"_You're...what? No, Byakuya. I mean, you don't have to-"_

_"I know I don't. I'll be home in about ten minutes," and with that, he hung up, feeling confused and torn. How in the world had this happened? He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted. He didn't want to face home, all of a sudden, didn't want to face Rukia. But he had to be there, and he knew it. So he stood up and prepared to head home._

_**-:-:-:-:-End Flashback-:-:-:-:-**_

Byakuya realized what he had been thinking. "Jeez..." he muttered to himself, "Hisana was right, wasn't she?"

He wasn't sure if that thought amused him or aggravated the hell out of him. He settled for letting it do both, and continued scanning the streets in sidewalk through the snow that was piling up on his car (despite the fact he was moving). Kuchiki Byakuya didn't worry. But at that very moment, he was worried. Very, very worried.

* * *

"_Dammit_!" Ichigo slammed his fist against an icy telephone pole, then swore even more loudly as he danced around in the snow, howling in pain. "Ow, ow, _ow_!" 

He massaged his knuckles gingerly then flexed his fingers, checking to make sure absolute nothing was broken, but pushing forward at the same time. It had been half an hour, _at least, _since he had gone out into this God forsaken storm, and he had yet to see hide-nor-raven hair of a certain midget girl.

Ichigo pulled tightly at his jacket, wishing his toes would regain some feeling so he could do more than stumble through the icy snow that was piled a mile high on the ground. "Rukia _where are you_?" he asked quietly. He felt as if he had been all over the neighborhood (though that was probably an exaggeration), and _still_he hadn't found her.

Just as Ichigo was beginning to feel _really _beat, a small mound of snow attracted his attention. It was mostly like every other mound he had encountered so far, except for one thing; he could make out a small spot of black. His heart stopped. "Oh..._God_..."

He dropped to his knees and thrust his already freezing cold hands into the pile. It took a minute, but finally he came upon the small, shivering, slightly blue form of Kuchiki Rukia. "_Rukia_," Ichigo drew the girl into his arms. Her hands reached up and clutched weakly at Ichigo's jacket. "Oh God..." Ichigo whispered. He slipped his jacket off at once, ignoring the frigid air that hit his bare arms, and wrapped it around Rukia. Hang on," he muttered, "Please just...hang on. If I can just remember how to get home..."

He stumbled up and turned in the direction he was pretty (a little) sure he had originally come from. His sense of direction _sucked_ in_ good_ weather. In bad weather? He and Rukia were both _completely _screwed.

A sudden noise his attention. Rukia was twisting in his arms, coughing. Ichigo, careful to keep moving, raised a hand up and touched it to her forehead. Somehow, even though she practically felt like ice, he could tell her forehead was burning up. Great. Fever. Never a good thing. "This is _so _not good," he muttered as he pushed his way through the snow. It was like pushing through rocks. "Rukia, please – please don't die..."

It felt like an eternity before the sign for the Kurosaki Clinic came into view. It was a dim blue sign, but at the same time it stood out against the bright white snow. Ichigo, his teeth chattering, was renewed by the site, and actually managed to run-stumble. Rukia was shivering worse than ever against him, despite being wrapped up in his jacket. "Just a little further..."

As he got closer to the house, he made out two small forms pressed against the living room window. Karin and Yuzu. They were supposed to be asleep, so of course they weren't. They both darted to the door as soon as they saw Ichigo and wrenched it open. "Ichi-nii!" Yuzu cried, "Where've you been, Daddy's worried – is that Rukia-chan?!"

"Where's Dad?" Ichigo didn't mean to be so harsh with his little sister – Yuzu was sensitive after all – but he didn't have time to listen to this.

"In the kitchen, wait-" Karin darted into the kitchen to find their father, who was currently talking on the phone. She dragged Isshin out a second later. The man's mouth dropped when he saw Rukia shivering in his son's arms.

"Ah...Hisana? I think we've got your daughter...yes, definitely your daughter...I'll get back to you," he hung up quickly and took charge, "Ichigo, bring her into the clinic. Yuzu, get extra blankets, I know we have some hanging around. Karin, turn down the heat in the clinic-"

"_What_?" Ichigo asked in disbelief. Karin looked doubtful about her father's orders for her as well. "Dad, she's freezing-"

"Exactly. Bring her into an overly warm room and her body will go into shock. You don't want _that,_do you?" Ichigo had to admit, his father had a good point. Apparently Karin thought so as well. She moved to quickly to do as Isshin had told her. It was one of those rare times that all three kids were actually willing to do as their father told them. Ichigo followed Isshin into the clinic, tightening his grip on Rukia, who was still shivering terribly. "Don't worry," Isshin had seen the look of worry in his son's eyes, "She'll be all right. Put her into that bed over there, go on..."

Ichigo was reluctant to relinquish his grip on the girl, but he knew it was for her own good. He laid her down carefully just as Yuzu stumbled in, weighed down by ten or twelve assorted comforters and blankets. Ichigo grabbed one and wrapped Rukia's small body up tightly. Yuzu moved to help as well, and after a second Karin joined them too.

For some odd reason, it took Isshin half an hour to determine what Ichigo had taken five seconds to; Rukia was sick. Very, very sick. Well, okay, more than usual. "I don't know what to do right now," Isshin admitted, "I don't know if she's allergic to anything, so I don't want to give her medicine. We'll just have to wait for her parents to get here. They must be taking it slow, hope they didn't crash..."

The snow outside showed no signs of stopping. Ichigo had to admit, _he_ was starting to worry too. It _had _been awhile...

But just as ominous thoughts were starting to cross Ichigo's mind, the sound of the front door opening reached his ears. "Three guesses who that is," Isshin stood up and left to greet Rukia's parents. Ichigo could just make out Hisana's low, distressed voice. He sighed and looked over at his sisters, who were standing against a wall.

"You two better head to bed," he said, "The chances of this snow _actually_ canceling school are slim, ya know"

Yuzu and Karin nodded and quickly scampered out. They'd barely left when Kuchiki Hisana entered. Isshin was still talking with Byakuya, apparently.

Ichigo stood up to follow his sisters; one, _he _still had school tomorrow, and two, this didn't seem like the right place to be. It was more of a family thing. But Hisana caught the action and said, with a small smile, "You can stay if you want. I think she'd like you to be here"

Ichigo paused at the door, then turned back. Well, he _really _didn't want to leave...

"Your father told me you went out to look for her," Hisana said as Ichigo sat down again, "You didn't have to do that, it could have been dangerous, especially on foot. I didn't mean to make you go out, I just wanted to know if you'd seen her"

"S'all right," Ichigo muttered, shrugging, "Cold doesn't bother me all that much, not really"

"Well, still," Hisana smiled as she reached a hand out and ran it through Rukia's raven hair. "She likes it," Hisana answered Ichigo's questioning glance, "She was born with a full head of hair, and I used to love playing with it. When she cried, it always made her feel better. After that it just kind of became a habit. Whenever she was upset about something, or scared, this always made her feel better. She still likes it, and old habits don't seem to die as hard as they used to"

Ichigo smiled, but before he could say anything, Rukia began coughing. He looked down at her, alarmed, but after a minute the fit ended. Hisana moved her hand down to her daughter's forehead, and frowned. "She has a fever"

"For some reason it took my dad half an hour to figure that out," Ichigo rolled his eyes as he allowed his fingers to dance absentmindedly over Rukia's hand. He pulled away when he saw Hisana was watching him though. She was smiling mysteriously. "What I don't get," he said in an attempt to fill the suddenly _awkward_ silence, "Is why she ran out. She knew it was bad out there, what was with the rebellious thing?"

"Because, unfortunately, that's who Rukia is," Hisana said with a sigh, "She's a stubborn person who, no matter what, has to have things her way," at that moment, Byakuya walked in, with Isshin right behind him, "Not much different from _certain _people I know..."

"I don't know what she's talking about, but if she's emphasizing words, it _can't_ be anything too kind," Isshin muttered, "Ichigo, go to bed, it's almost midnight"

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, standing up, "'Night"

He gave everyone a sort of wave as he left, and certainly didn't miss the glare Kuchiki Byakuya threw him. Still a lot of hard feelings there. But Ichigo didn't care. The only thing he acknowledged as he left was the small form laying in the bed next to Hisana.

_Please be all right...Rukia_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Uh huh...yeah. So, basically nothing happened. Don't worry, I know. Oh, and I'm in the process of redoing the Prologue (probably be up late tonight or tomorrow), because I realized today that it completely sucks. And...yeah. Just review, kay? My final goal for this story is 350. I don't see it happening, but hey, I can try, right? — Sam 


	13. 12 — Choices

**Miracle – XI**

Rukia stirred as her mind slowly – _very _slowly – began working again. Her entire body felt heavy, and the simple task of trying to open her eyes struck her as being _impossible_. So instead she contented herself to laying...wherever she was and trying to make heads-or-tails of what was going on. The last thing she remembered...

Oh. Right. The last thing she remembered was climbing out of her window into a _very _mean storm. And she had collapsed. But after that it was all kind of...well, not there.

_Am I dead?_ She wondered. She scratched that thought when she realized she was breathing. She didn't believe in heaven or God, but if she did, she was pretty sure they didn't _breath_ in heaven. Did they? Suddenly she wished she had paid more attention in Sunday School. Though she was pretty sure they had never mentioned something like _that_.

_Okay, not dead, _she finally decided, _So then where in the world am I, exactly?_

Her first thought was home. If she was _there_ she would scream. No louder than her parents would scream, of course, when they found out she was waking up. Oh God. Her parents. Okay, so maybe she was _better off _dead.

After a minute though, she ruled out home. Her bed at home was more comfortable than this. Okay then. So where the _hell_ was she? A hospital? If she was in the hospital, she'd probably just kill herself. She didn't want to be in the hospital again.

Finally, curiosity overcame her desire to be comfortable and clueless, and she struggled through the process of opening her eyes. And she concluded something. Wherever she was, she knew she had _never_been there before. "Oh boy," she groaned. So not only did she _not know _where she was, she was willing to bet her _parents_ had no clue either. Oh hey, the silver lining.

Rukia pushed herself up with shaking arms and looked around. _Wait a sec, _realization hit her, _I_ do_ know where I am_

It was the Kurosaki Clinic. _Ichigo, _Rukia blinked, _He must have...but how did he...how did he know, how did he find me?_

At that moment, nothing was making even the remotest bit of sense. Before Rukia could take in anything else though, a coughing spasm tore through her body and she doubled over. She groaned as she straightened up again once the fit had passed. She could _definitely _remember times when she had felt better.

How long had she been unconscious for? _Did_ her parents know where she was? If they did, exactly _how _badly did they want to kill her? Rukia sighed as she rested her head in her hands. Her entire body ached. Part of her wanted to try and make more sense of what was going on. Most of her just wanted to go back to sleep though, and deal with it later.

Fate and luck didn't want to see to be on her side today though. "Rukia! You okay?"

She looked around at the clinic door. Ichigo was standing there, looking somewhere between happy and concerned. His usual scowl was there, as usual, of course. "Hey," he walked over to the bed as she looked away. Suddenly, she felt a little shameful. "Ah...you feeling all right?" he asked after a minute, running his hand through his spiky hair.

"Uh yeah, fine," she muttered. She rubbed her arms, both of which felt oddly cold, and shivered, "Little achy, kind of..."

"Cold?" Ichigo guessed, then went on in a much more sarcastic voice (which Rukia was pretty sure she should have expected), "Gee, can't imagine why, I'm not sure how long you were in that snowbank for...I'd guess half an hour at least, probably more, possibly more. In fact, most likely definitely more..."

"Am I the only who thinks your turning into a babbling idiot?" she started to laugh, but it became a cough. Ichigo touched a hand to her head, and swore.

"Damn you're head's hot. Guess your fever's a little worse than I thought," he made a face, "Your parents said something about taking you to the hospital once the snow let up-"

"Parents? Hospital?" Rukia's head snapped up, violet eyes meeting amber, "Wait, what? My parents? They know I'm here? How mad are they at me, and how badly do they want to kill me? And what are they saying about a _hospital_?"

"Calm down already," Ichigo said in a would-be soothing voice, "Yeah, your parents know you're here, of course they do. They were freaking worried _sick_ you moron, your mom called here looking for you, she was talking to my dad when I brought you in. And they're pretty upset with you, I'm not really sure I can blame them"

"When you..._what?"  
_

"Yeah, I'm the stupid idiot that went out into _that_looking for you," he jerked his thumb at the window, and Rukia saw that snow was still coming down. _Hard_. "I actually think it's _better _out there than it was earlier. I'm still trying to get the feeling back into my toes. You're lucky though. I mean, I guess you're lucky. My dad said it was a miracle you didn't catch hypothermia. Or that something _worse_ didn't happen to you"

Rukia noticed that Ichigo was acting...shifty. He didn't seem to want to look at her – his amber eyes were dodging in every which direction. His feet were shuffling sideways on the floor, making it look as if he was preforming a very odd dance. His hands were clasped behind his back, except for when he reached on up and ran it through his orange hair, giving his already messy head a look of one who didn't care for himself. "What's your problem?" she finally asked, feeling faintly annoyed. He was beginning to bug her. A _lot_. She was beginning to wish he would just look at her. And stop acting like a babbling idiot.

"Problem? Don't have one"

"Right, and I'm not short"

"Well we all know_ that's _a lie"

Rukia wished he'd come a little closer so she could hit him. "Just tell me what's up with you. Is there any particular reason you're looking anywhere that _isn't_ at me?"

"Nothing Rukia, it's just..."

"Just what?" Rukia prompted him in a threatening tone when he stopped talking again, "What is it _just _Ichigo?"

"It's...um..." he took a deep breath, and then he lost it completely. "It's just...what the hell were you thinking?!"

_This_ took Rukia by surprise. "W-What? What do you mean? Look, I know going out in that blizzard wasn't my brightest move ever, but-"

"It's not just that"

"Than _what_?"

"Look it's...Everyone was worried sick about you...and when I found you, you were barely _breathing_...did you ever stop to think about how much you taking off like that would hurt everyone else?"

"Ichigo obviously I wasn't thinking much at all-"

"And that's another thing"

"What the hell do you mean _now_?"

"I'm talking about what my dad said before. You could have _died_ Rukia, did you ever stop to think about _that_?"

"I'm pretty sure I just said-" Rukia froze. "Wait. Oh _wait_. I know what this about. Oh jeez, that's just perfect. Just _perfect_"

"What are _you_ talking about?"_ Ichigo_ sounded confused now. But Rukia no longer was. Now she was just mad

"You!" she snapped, folding her arms and turning away from him in a huff, "I_ told _you, I already have people that worry about me twenty four-seven, I don't need _you_ adding your name to the damn list!"

"Why_ shouldn't _I worry, Rukia?" Ichigo said in a low voice, "You're going to turn around and do something stupid like go out in a blizzard, yeah, I'm gonna worry. Were you trying to kill yourself or something?"

"No, the Leukemia is doing a fine job of that on it's own, thank you"

"What are you going on about?"

Rukia honestly wasn't sure anymore. Her brain felt completely clouded, by both fever and anger. All she knew was that if Ichigo didn't _back off, _and_ soon,_she couldn't be held responsible for whatever actions she might be forced to take (which might involve ripping his head off). "Rukia, look, I just-"

"_Save it, _Ichigo," she snapped, losing her patience, "All right? Just...leave me alone. I don't get why you care so much anyways, like I said before, it's none of your business"

She didn't have to look at Ichigo to know her words at hit him hard. That was reflected in his voice; there was a hint of hurt. "_Why_? I dunno, maybe because I thought we were friends. Guess I'm the stupid one, huh?"

Rukia looked around, but only had time to catch Ichigo's retreating back. Sighing heavily, she fell back in bed and closed her eyes. This was way too much to deal with all at once. Putting it off until morning sounded really good right then. So that was what she did.

* * *

Ichigo dropped onto his bed. His adrenaline was still pumping from his argument with Rukia. "Why the hell do I care so much about her anyway?" he grumbled into his pillow, "She obviously doesn't give a damn, why should I?"

_Gee, _that same old annoying voice annoying voice spoke up in the back of his head, _Let's think for a second, maybe because...you love her?_

"Shut up," Ichigo muttered, "You know, I really wish you would just go away"

_Haven't we been over this before? I'm freaking _you _for heaven's sake, I can't just _go away

"Well go away anyway!"

_Have you ever considered the possibility that maybe you're insane? I mean, you're talking to voices in your head, telling them to go away. I'm pretty sure that's one of the signs of a crazy person, correct me if I'm wrong here-_

"Shut the hell up," Ichigo growled.

_Fine. But I notice you didn't bother denying the fact that you love Rukia_

"I don't love her!"

_Then why didn't you say that when I first pointed it out? Why'd you just tell me to shut up?_

"Because you're driving me insane and I don't feel like listening to you. Plus, there's really no point in denying it, seeing as how you'll just keep talking anyway-"

_But you're _still_ not denying the fact that you love her_

"I just did!"

"Ichigo?" Ichigo bolted up on his bed, and saw Isshin standing in the door, one eyebrow raised. He was looking at his son, obviously concerned, "You okay? You're er...talking to yourself"

Ichigo blinked. What could he say? "No, I'm talking to the voices in my head"? That would have sounded a little too insane. "I'm er...you know..." he tried to sound nonchalant, "Just trying to sort out my thoughts. Out-loud"

"Uh huh. I see," it was obvious Isshin didn't believe him, "Are you sure you're okay though? You seem a bit...distracted. Worried about Rukia-chan?"

The name made Ichigo's blood boil. "Oh hell no," he said angrily, throwing himself under the covers and pulling the covers over his head, "Why the _hell_ would I ever _worry _about her?"

"Well let's see, considering you went out into a snow storm and nearly froze to the death just to save her," Isshin pretended to think for a second, and Ichigo scowled. He really, _really _hated his father when he made sense.

"If I'd known she was going to be such an ungrateful bitch I would have let _her _freeze," the orange-haired teen recounted his conversation with Rukia to his father. Isshin waited patiently, nodding like he understood, all though he really didn't have a clue.

"Sounds like she _was _being a little ungrateful," he said when Ichigo was finished talking, "Maybe you should look at it from her point of view though"

"Which is..."

"Hisana told me Rukia-chan and Byakuya had a fight before she ran out. In fact that's _why _she ran out. She wanted to get away from her parents, away from their worry, away from their rules – which she probably considered unfair. Then to have you jumping down her throat about it, when she knows her parents are going to do the exact same thing in the morning...she said some things she didn't mean. You can't hold it against her, really, I'm sure _you_ said some things you didn't mean as well"

"Like hell I did, I meant everything I said"

"Oh, so you meant it when you told me you thought she was an ungrateful bitch?" Ichigo blinked. Maybe that had been a little harsh...

"Oh shut up," Isshin smirked.

"She's probably going to leave early if the snow has let up, and I'd say it is. You might want to talk to her before that happens, who knows when the next time you'll see her is otherwise. Night Ichigo," Isshin left Ichigo to his thoughts, closing the door behind him.

* * *

"It's not that bad Kuchiki-san!" Orihime said in a bright voice as she bustled around Rukia's room, trying to make it look more home-like. But of course, _nothing_ could make a hospital room look more home-like. Except maybe saying good-bye to it.

"Sure it is," Rukia grumbled as she fell back on her pillows, "It's every bit as bad as I'm making it seem. And it'll just get worse the longer I'm here"

Long story short: Rukia was in the hospital again. Dr. Kaname had decided that, after her little adventure the night before, she should be kept in case something happened. And considering the fact her fever was currently around one-hundred and four, that was probably the best idea. But of course, Rukia would never in her life admit that. "It's for the best," Orihime said with a smile, "I'm sure in the long run, you'll be happy with the decision"

"Don't count on it," Rukia muttered, folding her arms and wishing her mother would hurry up and get back. Hisana had gone home to pick up some things for Rukia (books, school-work, anything to keep the girl distracted from the fact that she was in the hospital again, like anything could really do that). Byakuya had gone to work, of course, though he promised to get out early and come right down. Not that Rukia minded so much. She was still kind of upset with her father. Though not nearly as much as she was with Ichigo.

"So how come you're sulking?"

"Not sulking"

"Come on Kuchiki-san, I know a sulk when I see one," Orihime teased, "And you are most definitely sulking. Now tell me, why are you sulking?"

"Well..." Rukia _did_ want to tell someone, "Do you remember that boy I mentioned before, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Orihime nodded, so Rukia dove into her story about the fight she and Ichigo had. "I mean, really!" she finished after five minutes of raging, "Like I don't have _enough _people on me, worrying twenty-four/seven, now _him _too?! I don't need that; I don't need someone around who's going to spend their life constantly tracking my medical records, making sure I take my medicine when I'm supposed to, treating me like some helpless kid! I just need someone who will treat me normally"

Orihime was a good listener, thankfully. She paid close attention through Rukia's entire rant, nodding when it seemed right to nod, and when the younger girl was finally done she said, "Rukia, have you ever wondered _why_ everyone worries about you the way they do?"

"Because they're over-obsessive?" Rukia guessed, folding her arms and flopping back on her pillow, pouting.

"Not exactly," Orihime smiled, obviously amused by Rukia's attitude, and un-phased by her sarcasm (as most people who knew Rukia were), "Believe it or not, Kuchiki-san, when people like your parents and Kurosaki-kun look at you, the first thing they see _isn't_ a girl with Leukemia. The first thing they see is a bright, vivacious young girl who has so much going for her in her life, and they feel attracted to you. You're the kind of person, Kuchiki-san, who could light up an entire room if you try. Like there's a spotlight on you. But then something happens, and it reminds them that you really are sick. And it scares them. It scares them to think about something happening to you. And _that's _when they remember you're sick. I know it's hard on you, not to mention incredibly annoying, but you have to see it from everyone else's point of view. It's difficult, dealing with the fact that you're different from everyone else, but that doesn't mean you have to hate the people that worry about you. Just remember, they do it because they care, not because they're trying to hurt you. All anyone that cares about you wants is for you to be safe. I know it's difficult, but you have to understand; no one wants to hurt you. That's the last thing they would ever want to do"

Rukia blinked as she stared at Orihime. This was the most sense the young nurse had ever made. It was almost a scary thing, hearing her be so sensible. No, it was a _really _scary thing, hearing Orihime be so sensible. "I guess...I mean...I don't know"

"Think about it," Orihime said as turned to leave.

"Ishida-san, wait," Orihime smiled as she turned around.

"Yes, Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia paused, unsure of how to put her thoughts into words. Finally she said, in an aggravated tone, "You know what, forget it. Is Hinamori still around?"

Orihime looked rather put off by this, but said in a patient voice, "She's here still, yeah. But if you're looking to see her, you might want to wait a day or two. There was a...a bit of a complication, earlier this morning, one of her lungs collapsed. She's all right now," Orihime added to the panicked look on Rukia's face, "But she just got out of surgery a little while ago, she's probably still under-"

Rukia tried hard not to laugh. Hinamori was loopy enough _without _drugs, but with? That was a scary, scary thought. "I'll wait," Orihime's regular smile was back.

"Do you need anything?"

"A new life might be nice"

"Well, can't get you one of those, sorry. Call me if you need something I _can_ get though," she left, leaving Rukia with nothing for company but her thoughts. And some company _those_ were.

* * *

** Author's Note:** Wow. I hadn't realized how long it had been since my last update. it was a real surprise when I saw. anyways, I know nothing happened in this chapter, don't feel compelled to remind me. just review - please? - Sam 


	14. 13 — Visiting Hours

**Miracle – XIII**

Rukia was heavily into the sulking mode. She knew sulking wasn't going to help her at all. But she _really_ didn't want to be _back _in the hospital. It was a nightmare. So even though Rukia wasn't much for sulking...she planned on doing some _heavy _sulking.

"It's your own fault," Hisana had walked in Rukia's sulking session, "You knew what the weather was like, but you still went out," She rested a hand on the younger girl's forehead, and frowned, "Plus, you still have a fever. And the doctor said-"

"I _know _what the doctor said," Rukia snapped, pushing her mother's hand away. She knew she was being mean, but she didn't care. She was sick, she was in the hospital. All of that equaled one bad damn mood for Kuchiki Rukia. Hisana knew better than to take it seriously, of course. Her daughter's bad moo was almost guaranteed when a hospital was involved. "How long do I have to stay here anyway?"

"Until the doctor says you can go home," well _that_ certainly did nothing for Rukia's mood. Hisana smiled as she watched her daughter's frown deepen. She'd understand someday.

* * *

"Kuchiki-san!" Rukia jumped a mile and looked up. Hinamori Momo was standing in the door to the room, smiling. 

"Hi Hinamori," Rukia put aside the book she was reading and tried to smile. She didn't want Hinamori to think anything was wrong. "What's up?"

Just came to say hi," Hinamori shuffled into the room and dropped into the chair next to Rukia's bed, "I heard you were back. Sorry."

"Not half as sorry as I am," Rukia proceeded to tell Hinamori about what had happened. The girl listened intently, her head cocked to one side, her black eyes shining with curiosity.

"Ouch," she said when Rukia told her about the argument with Ichigo, "That's pretty harsh. But he _did _save you."

"Yeah. I still wanna kill him though," Hinamori smiled weakly. "But hey, enough about me. How've things been with you?"

Hinamori perked up at once. "Shirou-chan was here the other day!"

"_Again_?"

"Uh huh," Hinamori nodded, smiling, "He's off the crutches now, I think he's really happy about it too, but you can never tell with him, he always looks _mad_to me, did you ever see him smile? I know I didn't..."

Rukia smiled. She couldn't help it. She was determined to be upset, but Hinamori's mood was contagious. And maybe she _didn't_ want to spend the _entire _time sulking. After all, there were a few good points to this. She got to miss school. Then go back and listen to rumors. She quickly tried to think of something to say. "Hey, I heard you might be going home soon."

"Oh!" Hinamori looked elated at the thought, "Yeah, I meant to tell you last time I saw you. Ishida-san told you, right?"

"Yeah."

"It's really exciting, isn't it?" Hinamori went on, "I miss my parents, you know I don't see them that much-" Hinamori lived one town over from Karakura, and her parents didn't get a chance to come out and visit that much, "I was so happy when my mom told me, you know they've been trying for so long to save up enough money to fix the house, but the way things have been going, you know, medical bills and all, it's hard-" Rukia knew her family could relate to the money thing, "But my parents have been trying, and I guess _someone _finally answered their prayers. I can't wait, it's really exciting, don't you think?"

It was exciting – but it was also hard, trying to keep up with Hinamori's constant stream of chatter. Rukia's head was still spinning as she said, "Yeah, it's really great Hinamori. I'm happy for you, really, it's wonderful"

Hinamori grinned. Sometimes Rukia wondered if the younger girl knew perfectly well what she was doing, confusing the hell out of everyone, and went so far just to get a little more enjoyment in her otherwise dull life. "Kuchiki-san? Are you okay?"

Rukia jumped as Hinamori rested a hand on the raven-haired girl's arm. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm okay, don't worry."

"You sure?" Hinamori's smiled faltered to a look of concern, "I mean, you look kind of...I dunno. But are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah Hinamori. Don't worry," once again, Rukia attempted to put on a smile. But once Hinamori got an idea in her head, it was next to impossible to get it out of her head. And it was a pretty accurate idea at that.

"Well, okay..." Hinamori blinked, unsure. But then the smile came back, and she said, "How long do you think you're going to be here for?"

"You're guess is as good as mine."

"Aw, too bad," Hinamori gave Rukia a sad smile, "Well, it's all for the best in the end, right? If you end up getting better-"

"Does it even matter?" Rukia wasn't sure where those words came from. But the next second there they were, hanging out in the open. Rukia wished she could take them back. Hinamori gave the older girl a look of surprise.

"What do you mean 'does it even matter?'?"

"Nothing," Rukia said promptly. She didn't want Hinamori to worry. The girl had enough of her own problems. "I didn't mean anything by it, it was nothing...never-mind, Hinamori, it wasn't anything at all."

"No, you meant something," Hinamori pushed, looking determined now, "What did you mean, Kuchiki-san? Don't you care about getting better?"

"It'll never happen, what does it matter?" Rukia said finally, trying to brush it off.

"Oh come on, Kuchiki-san," Hinamori tried to smile, but Rukia could tell the girl was upset now, "You just have to have hope-"

"Hope?" Rukia repeated in disbelief, "Hinamori, maybe you haven't figured it out by now, but _hope_ doesn't exist."

Now Hinamori looked _very_ upset. Rukia supposed she should have felt bad about hurting the girl, but she didn't attempt to stop herself. "Don't you care Kuchiki-san? Don't you care about...about getting better, about _living?_"

Rukia didn't answer. But apparently it was all the answer that Hinamori needed. "Kuchiki-san...don't you care?"

* * *

"Ishida-san?" Ishida Orihime looked up from the pills she was attempting to sort into their respective cups. Hinamori Momo was standing into the door of the small room Orihime was in, a look of concern on her face. Orihime was surprised. If Hinamori-san was upset about something, there were _definitely_ bad things in the air. Orihime turned fully to face the young girl. 

"Hinamori-san, what's wrong?"

"It's um...it's um..." Hinamori shifted from foot to foot, obviously unsure of what to say, "It's...it's about Kuchiki-san"

Kuchiki Rukia. She was definitely an interesting girl, at least to Orihime. She never ceased to completely amaze a person. "Kuchiki-san? What do you mean, what's wrong?"

"Well, um...I went to talk to her earlier, you know, 'cause it's been awhile since I saw her and everything, and we were talking, and she said...well, I said something about having hope, and she said..." Hinamori shifted again, her black eyes dodging everywhere, "She said hope was useless, pretty much, and I asked her if she cared about living, and she said...well, actually...she didn't answer, Ishida-san."

Orihime listened intently, feeling grave. Kuchiki-san didn't strike Orihime as the type to be suicidal...but with everything that was going on, between her parents and school, and that boy, Kurosaki...it'd be enough to drive a person completely nuts, in Orihime's opinion. "Ishida-san...you don't think she'd...do something to hurt herself, do you?"

Orihime knew where Hinamori's worry was coming from. So the young nurse said, in as a soothing a voice as possible, "Don't worry Hinamori-san. I don't think she'd do something like that. But if it'll make you feel better, I'll try and talk to her"

Hinamori smiled gratefully. "Would you?"

* * *

"Kuchiki-san?" Rukia was getting tired of hearing that. She looked up, annoyed, at Ishida Orihime, who was standing in the door, a look of concern on her face. Rukia sighed and once again put her book aside. 

"Hello Ishida-san. What's up?"

"Well, I just had an interesting talk with Hinamori-san..." oh great. Rukia knew exactly where this conversation was going.

"Ishida-san, I'm not suicidal."

"I don't think you are," Orihime informed the girl, "Really I don't. But I do wonder sometimes... especially after last year. Kuchiki-san, why did you stop taking your pills?"

The question caught Rukia by surprise. "I uh...I mean...I don't really know why, I mean...I guess I just wanted to prove I didn't need them."

"Are you sure that's all it was?"

"Ishida-san, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it."

"So? Try me, you'd be surprised what I understand"

Rukia gnawed on her bottom lip until it was raw, almost to the point where it was bleeding. "I don't...it's confusing, Ishida-san. I've lived with this for awhile...almost ten years...you don't know what that's like, living with something for so long, knowing eventually, no matter what happens, no matter what's done, eventually you're going to die, it's _going_ to kill you. Do you know what it's like, living like that? Do you know what it's like, knowing that your life's going to be taken away from you, and you have no say in it? I mean, I know no one really has a choice in how they die...but to know that _my _life,_my_ death is all in the hands of the doctors here, doctors that have no clue about what I have...do you know what that's like? For ten years, I've had no control in my life. I just wanted a little bit back. I want control what happens to me. That's all I want. Just some control."

Her lip – which she had been biting in between sentences – was bleeding now. And though she hadn't noticed it before, there were tears welling in her eyes. Orihime sat silently for a second, staring at Rukia. Then she grabbed a tissue from the side table and handed it to Rukia. The young girl wiped up her lip, and said in a quiet voice, "You have no idea what it's like, do you Ishida-san?"

"No. I don't," Orihime said gently, "And I can't say for sure I ever _will_ know what it's like. But I _do_ understand what it's like to want some control over what happens in your life, and I can completely understand why _you_would want it. But you have to understand, we don't get to choose our paths. Those are chosen for us. It's what we make of those paths that really counts. Remember that, Rukia. It's what _you_choose that makes your life. And _that_ gives you control, even if you don't realize it at the time."

* * *

Rukia rolled over in the hospital bed, groaning. "_Great_," she muttered under her breath as she tried and failed to sit up. She felt _terrible_. Okay, so maybe it was a_ good _idea, her staying in the hospital. That didn't mean she had to like it. But still...she'd definitely felt better. "Okay, here's my plan for today," she muttered as she rolled stiffly onto her back, "I lay here...all day...don't move...sounds good" 

Okay, so she'd had better plans in her life. Hell, she'd had _worse_plans, and besides, she was sick. She was entitled to not have brilliant ideas. Just as she was entitled to lay around and do nothing all day long. But as always, fate seemed to have different ideas for her. However, these ones might have worked out in the raven-haired girl's favor this time around. There was a first time for everything.

"Um...Rukia?"

Rukia's eyes snapped open, and she sat up with great difficulty. "Wha-at...Ichigo?"

The orange-haired teen was standing in the door of the hospital room, shuffling from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortable. "H-Hey," he said after they had stared at each other for a minute. His eyes kept dodging between Rukia and the ceiling of the room.

"What?" she asked in a thick voice. Her throat felt scratchy. "Never been in a hospital before?"

"No, as a matter of fact I haven't," he grumbled, "My dad owns a clinic, I've never _had_ to go to the hospital. Idiot."

"Tch," she made a face and fell back against her pillow, eyes closed. If he was going to be snippy with her, she wasn't going to deal with him. A second later though, she felt a rough hand against her forehead. "Get off," she grumbled, pushing his hand away.

"Sick, I take it?"

"What the _hell_ do you think?"

"Well, it's your own fault," Ichigo said after a minute, "You're the idiot that went out in the snowstorm, remember?"

"Shut_ up_," she pulled the blankets firmly over head. The memory of the _last _talk she had with Ichigo wandered back into her mind. She wasn't going to deal with him if she could help it. And if she had her way, she could help it.

"What's _your _problem?"

"What do you _think_ is my problem?"

"Che," Ichigo made an impatient noise in the back of his throat. "Will you _please_ just_ look _at me, Rukia? We have to talk"

"No we _don't_"

A hand grabbed the blanket and yanked it away. "I hate you," she grumbled, pushing herself up. The world spun weirdly before her eyes, but she did her best to just ignore it. "I mean, it, I really hate you right now."

"Is that how you thank someone who saved your life?"

"I didn't _ask _you to."

"All the more reason why you should be grateful."

"Just shut up already!" she yelled, losing her patience, "You are so damn_ infuriating_! Do you do it on purpose or something?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Ichigo grumbled, "Can we _please _just _talk_ like _civilized_ people?"

"You're capable of doing that?" Ichigo glared at Rukia, who huffed impatiently. "What do you want to talk about, then?"

"What do you _think_ I want to talk about, moron?" he was impatient now, "Look, about that fight we had the other night...I'm sorry. I think."

"You_ think_?"

"Only if you're sorry."

"Gee, that's a fair trade."

"Well I'm not going to apologize if you don't!"

For a second they just glared at each other. Then a coughing fit overtook Rukia's body, and she doubled over as the coughs wracked her small body. Ichigo hesitated for a moment before resting a hand on her back. "I'm okay," she muttered when the fit faded. She straightened up, running a hand over her forehead. Jeez, even _she_could tell she was burning up.

"Yeah, you sound really okay."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"I _hate_ you."

"I know you do," Ichigo laughed evilly as he sat down in the chair next to Rukia's bed, "Look, I really _am _sorry."

"Yeah...I am too"

The teens exchanged embarrassed sort of smiles. And for just a moment...things seemed just a little bit better.

* * *

**Author's Note **- Please don't tell me nothing happened. I'm well aware of this fact. Review anyway though. And...sorry for the long delay. I kept saying I was going to update then...I forgot XD - Sam 


	15. 14 — Christmas Day

**Miracle – XIV**

"Sssshhh, Daddy, you'll wake up Ichi-nii!"

"Who cares? He has to get up anyway!"

It was early, _waaaay_ too early for _anyone _to be up and moving around. So _why_ were there people bustling around outside of Ichigo's room? And why was _one of them _not bothering to keep his damn voice down?!

Ichigo grabbed his pillow and held it down tightly over his head, trying to block out the sound. No go though.

"Daddy you have to let Ichi-nii sleep!"

"He can't spend the rest of his life sleeping ya know!"

Ichigo growled under his breath and, losing his patience at last, threw the blankets and pillows away, jumped out of bed, stormed over to his door, yanked it open, and punched Kurosaki Isshin as hard as he could in the face. Yuzu blinked, obviously shocked. "Ichi-nii! I'm sorry, we didn't meant to wake you up-"

"Sure we did!" Isshin crowed, recovering from his son's attack, "Come on Ichigo, it's Christmas, up and at 'em!"

"_It is_..." Ichigo threw his alarm clock a half-hearted glare, "five in the freakin' morning, why the _hell _would I want to be up this freaking early?!"

"Well, as long as you're up..." it was obvious Yuzu, despite the fact she had been trying to keep her father quiet, was delighted her eldest brother was up and moving, "Let's go down and do Christmas presents now!"

Karin gave Ichigo a pitying look as the family made their way downstairs. "Okay!" Yuzu flopped down in front of the Christmas tree, "Let's get started," she grabbed a present, "This one's for...Karin, it's from Daddy, here-" she handed the present to her raven-haired sister, "This one's for Daddy, oh wait, it's from me – oh, here's one for you Ichi-nii–"

"Yuzu, grab one for_yourself_ already," Ichigo said with a slight smile as he took his own present. It was from Karin. Yuzu smiled as she grabbed a present of her own. And for a minute no one spoke, as they were too busy unwrapping. Yuzu was the first to squeal in delight.

"Oh thank _you_ Ichi-nii!" she cried, hugging the small stuffed lion tightly, "Thank you so much!"

Ichigo had honestly found the lion to be rather ugly. But something in his gut told him Yuzu would love it. And he liked seeing his sisters happy – even if he himself wasn't happy most of the time. His sisters deserved to be. "No problem, Yuzu. Glad you like it"

Isshin turned a fancy-looking razor set over in his hands. "How in the world did you get the money for this Yuzu?"

"I've been saving for awhile," Yuzu grinned. Ichigo couldn't help but smile just a little.

It took them about an hour to get through all their presents. Yuzu, of course, loved all of hers, and Ichigo could have sworn he saw a small smile spread across Karin's face once or twice. It didn't go all that badly. At least Isshin hadn't bought his son a package of condoms (again).

It was long after noon when Ichigo finally got a chance to escape up to his room. He snagged a small box out from his desk drawer, slipped it into his pants pocket, and walked back downstairs, grabbing his coat and calling, "I'm going out!"

"Now?" Yuzu yelled back, "Dinner will be ready soon!"

"Don't worry, I'll be back," Ichigo assured his sister. As he began to leave, Isshin called,

"Say hi to Rukia-chan for us! Try and get her under the mistletoe!"

Ichigo doubled back to hit his father before leaving for real.

* * *

Rukia grinned. She couldn't help it. "Aaaaaw, thanks a lot Mom!"

Hisana smiled lightly as she watched her daughter hug the small, stuffed rabbit she'd just unwrapped. "I'm glad you like it"

The older woman looked over at her husband to exchange happy looks, like they would have at another time, but today Byakuya was staring stonily ahead, not paying attention to anything or anyone. He had barely acknowledged his daughter when she had thanked him for his gift. Hisana was a little worried. Byakuya could be distant, but he was usually pretty in tune with his family.

Rukia, however, barely noticed. She was just too excited about being home again. The thought of spending Christmas in the hospital hadn't been a happy one. Even Hinamori wasn't going to be around; her parents were taking her out for dinner. So when Rukia found out she was going home the night before Christmas, she'd been thrilled, to say the least.

Not that her parents were actually letting her do anything, of course. They wouldn't even let her go up to her room. She had crashed on the couch the night before. But home and not being allowed to do anything was better than the hospital. _Anything_ was better than the damn hospital.

_Ding-Dong_

Hisana jumped and stood up, looking surprised. "I'll get it. But who would come to call on Christmas day..."

She shuffled to the door, and a second later she said in a surprised voice, "Kurosaki-kun! Merry Christmas, what can I do for you?"

Byakuya bristled angrily as Kurosaki Ichigo stepped into the living room behind Hisana. But Rukia barely noticed. She brightened and pushed herself up into a better sitting position. "Hi Ichigo! What's up?"

Ichigo smiled. "Hey. Merry Christmas"

Hisana picked up the clue at once. "Byakuya, will you do me a favor and help me in the kitchen with something?"

"No, I'll stay right here thank you," Byakuya said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. A second later though, he was protesting as Hisana grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. "Hisana – stop – let go!"

Rukia and Ichigo watched the older Kuchikis walk (or in Byakuya's case, be dragged) into the kitchen; both teens were wide-eyed and had their mouths agape. "Well...that's a side of your parents you don't see everyday, huh Rukia?" Ichigo said finally, trying to break the awkward silence. And Rukia smiled despite herself.

"I guess that just means they're human too"

"I'm not completely sure about your father, actually-"

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo and Rukia didn't normally laugh. Especially not in the company of each other. But the Christmas spirit was getting the better of everyone. And they both dissolved into small snickers.

From the kitchen door, Byakuya watched his daughter and her friend in a disapproving way. "I don't like him"

"Byakuya!" Hisana hissed from the sink, trying – and failing – to make herself seem busy so she wouldn't follow her husband's lead and begin spying as well, "Stop _watching_ them, it's not nice, give them some privacy-"

"So don't you have a family?" Rukia asked interestedly when they had recovered from their laughing fit, "Seems like a weird day to pop in, being Christmas and all-"

"I did the family scene," Ichigo said, rolling his shoulders in a casual way, "Same shit different year with those people. I need a change of pace. And you told me last night you'd be home today, so I figured why not stop in?"

"Well, I feel special," Rukia smirked, "So I'm guessing Christmas day is the same as supper at your house?"

"No, it's worse. Presents really set my sister off-"

From the kitchen, Hisana sent Byakuya an evil, disapproving glare. "_Stop it_ Byakuya. Rukia wouldn't like you spying on her – and I'm pretty sure Kurosaki-kun isn't too fond of being watched either, you should-"

"I don't give a damn what Kurosaki thinks"

"And what about Rukia?"

Byakuya didn't say anything, but he didn't move from his spot by the door either. And finally, curiosity won over moral, and Hisana moved to the door next to her husband. It was wrong, watching the two. But she _really_ wanted to know what was going on...

"Seriously Ichigo, why are you here?" Rukia finally asked.

"What, you don't want me around?" Ichigo pretended to be hurt, "Well then, guess I'll just leave, see you in school next week-"

"Oh shut up," Rukia scoffed, "I just wanted to know why you're here. It's obviously not just to get out of the house"

"Well, you're right about that," Ichigo admitted, "I just...I was just..."

He shifted, suddenly looking uncomfortable. From the kitchen door, Hisana whispered, "I bet he got her a Christmas present"

Byakuya just continued to watch, his dark eyes hard and void of any emotion. And in the living room, Ichigo slipped a small box out of the pocket of his jeans. "Well, I'm a psychic aren't I?" Hisana said triumphantly.

Rukia cocked her head, curious. "Hey, what's that?"

Ichigo grinned sheepishly. "Well uh... you know, it's Christmas. Took me awhile to decide what to get, but you know..."

Ichigo blushed slightly. Rukia blinked and looked between the box and Ichigo a couple of times before saying, "Oh..._oh_...Ichigo, you didn't have to-"

"No, I didn't," he handed the box down to her, "Well...Merry Christmas"

Rukia stared at the box for a minute, trying to figure out whether or not it was a joke. After a few Ichigo said, "Well it's not going to start tap-dancing. Take the freaking box already"

Rukia slapped him playfully before taking the box, treating it as if it were a delicate piece of china. She unwrapped the silk ribbon and took the cover off. And she nearly dropped it. "Ichi_go_...thank you...it's...it's...it's beautiful"

It was a sliver chained necklace with an angel pendant. The chain hung on either side of the angel wings, so it didn't exactly dangle. But it was _wonderful_. "Ichigo...you didn't have to...you really shouldn't have-"

"Are you always such an elegant speaker?" he asked, laughing softly as he sat down on the couch next to her. "Want me to put it on?"

She nodded eagerly and Ichigo took the necklace out of the box. She turned so the back of her neck was exposed, and Ichigo raised his hands around her, holding one end of the delicate chain in each of his large hands.

From the kitchen, Byakuya made a small noise of impatience. He didn't like how close Kurosaki was sitting to his daughter. Hisana, however, was practically melting. "Oh that is _so_ adorable...he is such a sweet boy-"

Ichigo pulled away after a minute, and Rukia turned back to face him, her fingers drifting up to play with the angel. "Thanks a lot Ichigo. But why an angel?"

"I know it's stupid-"

"Not really," she said quickly, "No, I don't think it's stupid at all, I love it really I do. I just want to know: why an angel?"

Ichigo shifted on the couch, "Well, you know...angels represent...well, my father told me angels represent hope, and it just seemed to fit, ya know?"

Rukia's smile melted at once. Ichigo saw the action, and said in a voice of concern, "What is it, what's wrong?"

Rukia tried to sound reassuring, "No, no, it's nothing, don't worry"

Her fingers continued to play with the pendant. Hope. How ironic. After the conversations with Hinamori and Ishida-san, it was just too ironic. "Hope," she muttered under her breath, "Hmn. That's funny"

"What is?"

"Never-mind," she smiled softly, "Now I feel _really_ bad I didn't get you anything"

"Don't. I got you that because I wanted to. I didn't expect anything in return," Rukia smiled sadly and looked up, violet eyes meeting amber.

"I know, but...hey!" she brightened suddenly, "I know what I can do. Close your eyes"

Apparently Ichigo found this to be an odd request. "I er...I mean, I um...I mean, you want me to..._what_?"

"Close your eyes," she folded her arms, pouting, "Go on Ichigo, I'm not going to kill you. If I was gonna do that I'd want your eyes to be open so you could see it"

There was too much truth in that, so he complied. Rukia leaned forward, and, after a moment's hesitation, she kissed him.

And from the kitchen door, Hisana and Byakuya exchanged completely opposite looks. Hisana's look of amazement and pure joy didn't exactly mirror Byakuya's look of horror and disapproval.

And in the living room, Ichigo and Rukia were the only two people that existed in their world.

* * *

It was the next day. Ichigo had almost floated out of Rukia's house the day before, about five minutes after recieving the best Christmas present of his life. Her parents had barged in, and Ichigo had a feeling it was time to go, especially after catching the look on Byakuya's face. But Byakuya wouldn't keep the orange-haired teen away. _Nothing_ could keep Ichigo away _now_.

Well, almost nothing. "Kurosaki," the boy in question looked around, and found himself facing Kuchiki Byakuya. Ichigo's pulse quickened at once. Whatever the older man had to say, it held no interest to the younger one. "We need to talk"

"If you're here to tell me to stay away from Rukia-"

"That has nothing to do with this," Byakuya said coldly, "But it has _everything_ to do with _her_. I need to know, one thing, Kurosaki. Can you give her what she really deserves?"

"What she deserves?" Ichigo repeated, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Byakuya shot back, "I'll be blunt, Kurosaki. I_don't_ like you. But Hisana does. Rukia obviously does. And I have to live with that. But Rukia deserves more, so much more. And if you can't give it to her, then _don't_ lead her on"

"I would never-"

"Not intentionally, maybe not," Byakuya cut Ichigo off, "But even just by accident. Rukia – despite the front she puts up at school, around her classmates – is a delicate girl. And if you can't give her everything she needs, if you can't guarantee, _completely guarantee_ that she won't get hurt in the offing, then back off now. Stay away from her, keep her from getting hurt later. Understand?"

"I won't hurt her," Ichigo said, his voice as cold as the snow that surrounded the two talking men.

"Can you guarantee that?" Byakuya asked, "You know as well as I do, Kurosaki, she's sick, very sick. Can you guarantee that you'll be able to stay by her side for all of it, for all the hospital visits, for all the days she's so tired she can't move, through it all? Can you guarantee that you won't hurt her, even if you don't mean to?"

Ichigo's amber eyes met Byakuya's cold ones. But even so, the younger male was wavering. Everything Byakuya had said had gotten to Ichigo. He didn't want to hurt Rukia. He could _never_ hurt Rukia. Not on purpose. But...but accidents happened, didn't they?

"Think about it, Kurosaki," and Byakuya walked away, leaving a stunned boy in his wake.

* * *

**Author's Note - **Uh...yeah...just review, I guess. - Sam 


	16. 15 — Nothing Changes

**Miracle – XV**

"So where do you think she was?"

"Couldn't tell you if I wanted to."

"I heard she overdosed on prescription drugs."

"Did not."

"That's what I heard."

The whisperers weren't even bothering to lower their voices as Rukia walked past them the Monday morning after New Year's – also known as Rukia's first day back since before Christmas Break. Voices that weren't bothering to keep themselves down were following her down the hallways.

"_I_heard she and her parents had a fight and she took off to go see the boy she married – you know, the one in Europe."

"It probably had something to do with what happened on Parents' Night."

"You mean that thing with Kurosaki breaking Zaraki's nose?"

"Yeah, that. You know Kurosaki was trying to protect her, right?"

"I heard something about that, yeah."

"Maybe she was scared she'd get in trouble."

"She was back the day _right _after."

"Then she disappeared."

"I'm telling you, it's something about the boy in Europe!"

"Shut up about the damn boy."

_I wonder what that boy's name is anyway_, Rukia thought idly as she shuffled down the hall to class, avoiding all the stares and trying to ignore the whispers. She was _really _tired of listening to all these idiots. It was so damn annoying.

Rukia was busy keeping her head low and not looking at anyone, she barely noticed someone walking towards her. Or at least, she barely noticed until she walked into said person. "Ow!" A familiar voice said angrily, "Watch it!"

Rukia rubbed her head as she stumbled up and glared at Miyako, who glared right back. "Well, look who decided to come." The latter said in a scathing voice. "I guess school isn't beneath you anymore."

"At least I don't run to Renji every time something bad happens!" Rukia shot back. Miyako bristled.

"Like he does _me_ any good anyways." She said angrily, "You've got him completely wrapped around your little finger."

"I'm sorry I actually stay in touch." Rukia said in a heavily sarcastic tone. "Unlike you, I don't forget my old friends the minute they're out of sight and move on. I actually attempt to _keep_ them my friends. Again, unlike you."

"Yeah, right, you stay in touch." Miyako scoffed. "Yup, the entirety of our Junior year you were gone, you _really_ stayed in touch then, huh Rukia?"

Rukia really didn't have a response to that. So instead she said, in what she hoped she could make pass as an 'I don't care' voice, "Well you certainly didn't try too hard to call from what I heard. Maybe I _couldn't_ get to a phone, did ya ever think of that?"

"No." Miyako said honestly. "But why would I, considering you seem bent on leaving me out of everything?!"

And again, Rukia had no response. What _could_ she say? Miyako was completely and totally right. Rukia_ was_ trying to keep her in the dark. But it seemed like the more she tried, the absolutely worse she did. It seemed as if she couldn't do anything right.

Miyako glared at Rukia for another second before storming off to class. The raven-haired girl felt just a little bad. Miyako was her best friend, after all – or she _had_ been anyway. Why was Rukia trying to alienate her?

Feeling a bit put off now, Rukia made her way to class. She brightened a little when she walked in to the room and saw Ichigo at his desk, talking to Keigo. The memory of his lips against hers came flooding back, and for a minute Rukia felt a little light-headed. But she managed to smile as she walked over to his desk. "Hi Ichigo-"

"Kuchiki-san!" Keigo grinned widely when he caught sight of Rukia. "How are you doing on this wonderful day?!"

Rukia blinked a few times then looked around Keigo at Ichigo, who was determinedly looking away from Rukia. "Hey, what's your problem-"

"Good morning class!" at that moment the teacher walked in. Rukia scowled slightly as she made her way to her seat. She had been looking forward to talking to someone at school who didn't make her completely insane.

* * *

No matter how hard Ichigo tried, he couldn't stay focused on class that day. Every time he did try, his mind would wander right back to the violet-eyed girl sitting one row over and one row back from where he was. And all he could think about was what that girl's father had said to her the day after Christmas. 

"_Can you give her what she really deserves?"_

Ichigo wanted to say he could. He'd finally come to terms with the fact that he cared about Rukia. He cared about her a_ lot_. He would have done anything for her – he had broken a guy's nose for her for heaven's sake, and he would have done worse. But she deserved more than that – could he give her what he _really_ deserved?

"_Rukia deserves more, so much more. And if you can't give it to her, then _don't_ lead her on."_

Ichigo would _never_ do something to hurt Rukia, he wouldn't lead her on! That was insane, completely insane. Ichigo wanted to say that Byakuya was just playing his role of over-protective parent just a little to well. But was he? Was he really? When Ichigo was little, he had been known to start one project, then move on to another without finishing the first one. The only thing he had only taken seriously in his life was karate, and that was just to protect his mother and sisters. Other than that, though, everything just sort of slipped past him. Rukia wasn't just a project, of course – but would she become just that to Ichigo? Would he unintentionally let her?

"_If you can't guarantee, _completely guarantee_ that she won't get hurt in the offing, then back off now."_

Ichigo dropped his head into his hands. He couldn't. He just _could not_ guarantee that. He had a bad habit of hurting people without meaning to, after all. It was what had killed his mother.

_**-:-:-:-Flashback-:-:-:-**_

"_Ichigo, get down." Kurosaki Masaki scolded her youngest lightly as she picked him up and put him down on solid ground. He had been walking along the small wall that separated the sidewalk from the steep bank that lead to the river below. Ichigo smiled up at his mother._

"_I won't get hurt." He protested good naturedly as he opened his umbrella. It was raining terribly, had been for the last week or so._

"_Well I don't want you up there." Masaki reached down and took her son's smaller hand in her own, bigger one. Ichigo smiled again and gripped her hand a little tighter._

_After a minute though, he got bored, and jumped back up onto the wall. "Ichigo,"his mother protested again, "get down"_

"_Don't worry-" just as he started to reassure his mother, though, he hit a slick patch, and his foot flew out from under him. "Yaaa-aaaah!" He swung his arms wildly as he began to tumble down off the wall._

"_Ichigo!" Masaki darted forward and grabbed him, and both of them went over the wall, hitting the steep bank and tumbling forward. They finally stopped, Masaki landing on top of Ichigo. Stars popped up before the small boy's eyes. He sat up, rubbing his head._

"_Ooow...sorry Mom, I didn't mean to-"_

_But as he sat up and rested a hand on his mother's back, he realized something rather disturbing. She wasn't moving. At all. "M-Mom?" he asked in a shaky voice, "Mom? Are you okay?"_

_Shifted his body so he was resting on his knees, placing both hands on his mother's back. "Mom?" he said over and over, "Mom, Mom! Wake up Mom, wake up!"_

_He shook her again and again, "_Mom_!"_

_**-:-:-:-End Flashback-:-:-:-**_

The bell ringing snapped Ichigo out of his thoughts and he looked up at the clock. It couldn't have been lunch time already. But apparently it was. He sighed as he grabbed his lunch and started out of the classroom.

"Ichigo!" the boy in question looked around in surprise, and saw Rukia moving quickly through the crowd towards him. "Hey." She said, sounding slightly breathlessly. "How's it going?"

"Um, hey." He said uncomfortably. "I mean...what's up?"

"Right back atcha." She looked extremely confused. "What's your problem, Ichigo? You've been avoiding me all day."

"Have I?" He asked, looking anywhere but at the girl standing in front of him, "Sorry I...I didn't mean to, I mean-"

Ichigo," Rukia broke in. "Is something wrong? Is something bothering you?"

"No...nothing." He said distantly, "Rukia, I have to go."

He took off without another word, leaving Rukia behind to wonder what the hell was wrong with her orange-haired friend.

* * *

Rukia was confused. She was _beyond_ confused. She was so far past confused, she could barely tell she was confused. 

"I just don't get it." She muttered into her pillow. "Christmas Day I thought he was going to float out of his skin. Now he's acting like he wants nothing to do with me."

"Sounds like you're having boy troubles." Rukia pulled her head out of her pillow and saw her mother standing in the door, leaning against the door frame, smiling.

"Not boy problems." Rukia protested, pushing herself into a sitting position. "Just Ichigo problems. Lots of Ichigo problems"

"What's going on?" Hisana asked, sitting down next to her daughter. For a minute Rukia didn't know what to say. She never thought she'd see the day where she was talking to her mother about boy problems - no, not boy problems. Ichigo problems.

Finally, though, she said, "It's...weird. But ever since school started again, he's barely looked at me. He's acting like...like everyone else in the class!" the realization hit her fast and hard, "He's acting like every other person, he won't look me right in the eye, and I know when I catch him looking at me and he looks away, he's thinking about me, and he...he..."

But Rukia's words were already dying. She blinked her violet eyes quickly, trying to regather her thoughts, and said finally, "Do you think...I did something wrong?"

"What could you have possibly done wrong?" Hisana asked, sounding surprised. It was typical of Rukia to blame herself, but what could she have possibly done wrong this time?

"Christmas Day..." she said slowly, "I kissed him...what if he didn't want to? What if he doesn't care about me that way? What if I made mistake, what if-"

Hisana raised a hand and covered her daughter's mouth. "Rukia, you know your father and I were watching from the kitchen. And I know what I saw in that boy's eyes. When you kissed him, he went somewhere completely different, somewhere he was happy, somewhere he didn't want to leave. He cares about you Rukia, that much is obvious. What's wrong now, I don't know. But I _do_ know that it has nothing to do with you."

Rukia stared at her mother for a few seconds, obviously unsure of what to say. Hisana could tell, of course, that the girl was still upset. Rukia wore her feelings on her sleeves, and her bright violet eyes reflected it all. But she also saw a glimmer of hope in there. It was something Hisana hadn't seen in a long time. "And you care about him, don't you Rukia?"

Rukia nodded. "Then that's all that matters. Whatever's wrong, whatever happens, this will all work out. Don't worry."

* * *

A couple days passed. Rukia didn't approach Ichigo. Not because she was afraid to, but because she wanted _him_ to make the first move. If she seemed too clingy, she might push him away. And she didn't want that. She wanted Ichigo to stay with her. So she waited. 

But the waiting got redundant. Ichigo no longer walked home with Rukia, no longer talked to her before and after class, no longer invited her to eat lunch with him (though Keigo looked like he wanted to a few times). And Rukia tried to be patient about it, really she did. But Rukia wasn't a patient person in general (a trait she had gotten from her father, supposedly). And she was getting tired of Ichigo jerking her around. One minute he was risking his life to save her, the next he could barely look at her. One minute he's thrilled to be kissing her, the next he won't talk to her. Rukia didn't like being thrown this way and that, especially not over a boy, even said boy _was_ Ichigo.

So she cornered him after school one day. "Just what the hell is your problem?" She asked angrily. He blinked in surprise.

"What do you-"

"Don't you dare ask what I mean." She snapped, cutting him off. "I'm sick to death of your attitude, hear me? And I don't exactly enjoy having you jerk my chain. Got that? Now, stop playing with me, and tell me what the hell is wrong with you!"

Ichigo just stared. "Okay...I think someone needs to take a chill pill."

Rukia clenched her fists angrily. "Are you serious? Ichigo what in the world is wrong with you? You've barely even looked at me since Christmas day, and now you're acting like...like I don't even matter to you! What the hell is going on?"

Ichigo bit his lip and looked around. And Rukia had a very bad feeling about what was coming next. "Ichigo-"

"I'm sorry Rukia," he cut her off. His hands were in his pockets, and he was staring determinedly at the ground. "But...Christmas day...I realized something important. You think...I let you think something, but it wasn't true, and I'm sorry I let you think it was."

Rukia blinked, stunned. She had not seriously just heard that. "Ichigo...what are you...what are you talking about?"

"Rukia, don't make me explain." He muttered, still looking away from her.

Rukia bit her lip, trying to hold back tears. Finally she said, in a chocked voice, "Fine. Just...fine. I get it. I'll leave you alone. I don't even know why I care"

She whirled around and walked away. She didn't run. She didn't storm. When she got home she didn't ignore her mother. She didn't slam her bedroom door shut. Because when Ichigo had talked to her, and said those things, she had realized something important. She had realized that this was the exact reason _why_ she had never told anyone the truth, why she had tried to cut herself off from people. Because everyone was exactly the same. Every_thing_ was exactly the same.

Nothing ever changes

* * *

**Author's Note: **Poor Ichigo...he really _does _care about her, he just doesn't want her to get hurt...I was considering having her beat him up, but it doesn't really fit with her persona in this story, so it didn't happen. Anyways, review and let me know what you think! - Sam 


	17. 16 — Birthday Surprises

**Author's Note **― This chapter's going to move through things kind of fast. I'm taking an idea I had for three short chapters and combining them into one longer one. So don't be surprised if it seems to breeze right through the situation.

* * *

**Miracle – XVI**

To say Ichigo hated himself was the understatement of the century. He was so angry at himself, he probably would have kicked his own ass if it wouldn't have made him look as if he had completely lost his mind. But Ichigo really, _really_ hated himself at the minute. He was a moron. A complete and total _moron_.

It had seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Well, maybe it really hadn't. But it had seemed like the _safe_ to do. Ichigo liked Rukia. A lot. He might even go as far as to say he loved her. When she had kissed him on Christmas Day, it had been the most wonderful moment of his life. Rukia gave Ichigo the feeling of completeness, something he hadn't felt since he had lost his mother. And Ichigo loved her. He loved Kuchiki Rukia.

But that could be dangerous. Ichigo had learned the hard way that his love brought nothing but pain to those he cared about. And he didn't want to hurt Rukia. She was already hurting enough without his help. It had been for the best, telling her there was really nothing between them. It had been for the best. Right?

Ichigo couldn't concentrate in class. All he could do was stare at the back of Rukia's head. Said girl was scribbling notes as the teacher talked. The way she was sitting, Ichigo could just see her face. Her eyes were narrowed at the paper. Usually they were shifting this way and that. Rukia had a very paranoid look about her. But today (and for the past few days, actually), she hadn't looked around at all during class. She just stared at her paper, took her notes, and kept her head down. She didn't talk. She didn't volunteer information during class. She did...nothing.

It was starting to concern Ichigo. But it was also driving him insane. He wished desperately that he could tell her the truth, the reasons behind what he had done, the role her father played in it. But then, would she even believe him? Or had he broken her trust to the point where his words meant little more than what a stranger's might? Had he destroyed what had taken him so long to build? Had he destroyed…Rukia?

Ichigo often day-dreamed about going to Byakuya and telling the guy exactly what he could do with his words. Because Ichigo loved Rukia, he would never hurt her, he would never even _think _of hurting her. But that damn Byakuya had planted the seeds of doubt in the orange-haired teen's mind. And that was all it had taken to hurt Rukia worse than anything else ever could.

Ichigo really, truly hated himself. He needed to figure out a way to make amends. The only problem is…he couldn't think of anyone else to talk to about it.

Rukia could feel his eyes on her. She couldn't actually _prove _he was looking at her until she turned around, and she _certainly _wasn't going to do that. So she settled for disillusioning herself into thinking that maybe Ichigo really _was _watching her.

Part of her hoped he was. Part of her hoped he'd realize what an idiot he was being, and how stupid he was, and he would come around and come back to her. Not that she'd forgive him that easily. Maybe a little begging would persuade her…ah who the hell was she kidding? All he'd have to do was say hi, and she'd melt, completely melt. She'd apologize (repeatedly) for whatever she had done to upset him, and force him to promise never to put her through this pain again (hey, she couldn't be _completely _flexible).

That was what _part _of her said anyway. The other part was much less emotional. The other part said _'who cares? It's not like you didn't see it coming. You're doomed to a life of being alone because you're different, because your death warrant was signed when you were just a girl of eight. Who would ever want to be with a person who could get sick tomorrow and die a week later? You've known this was coming. It's human nature. Everything is too good to last.'_

They were two very conflicting sides, constantly arguing with each other into the wee hours of the morning, keeping Rukia awake and making her feel like a complete and utter zombie once it came time to go to school.

School. One scene Rukia would have been more than _happy _to skip. Rumors were flying over why she and Ichigo had 'broken up,' if one could call it that. The mysterious boy from Europe had once again resurfaced. Something about challenging Ichigo to a gun duel. Rukia had ignored that. Someone else had said Ichigo was cheating on her. But the one that _really _got Rukia was the one she encountered one Wednesday right before her birthday (which was a week from Saturday).

"_I _heard she's going out with a boy in another town…Abarai Renji, I think his name was."

Rukia froze. She'd just been about to walk into the bathroom after the lunch bell rang when the whispers had reached her ears. Said ears were now turning red with anger. She darted away from the bathroom and outside, hell bent on finding a certain girl, the only girl who knew about her longtime friendship with the crimson-haired Abarai.

"_Miyako_." The girl in question looked around at Rukia, obviously not interested in anything her old friend had to say.

"What's up Rukia?"

"Oh don't _give _me that." Rukia grabbed Miyako by the arm, dragged her up, and pulled her around the corner of the school so they could talk in private. "_Look_," she said angrily, jabbing a finger at Miyako, "my life is bad enough right now without _you _spreading rumors about me and _Renji_!" Miyako opened her mouth to speak. "And _don't _say you don't know what I'm talking about! You're the only person who knows Renji and I are still in touch, besides my parents, and I doubt _they're _spreading rumors―"

"Rukia would you be quiet for one damn _second_?!" Rukia stopped talking at once. Miyako was glaring at her now. "Okay, _yes_, I started that rumor, but I only did it to get your attention!"

"Well you've got it!" Rukia shot back. "Why the hell are you doing this to me Miyako?"

"_Me_?" Miyako asked in disbelief. "Why am _I _doing this to _you_? Turn that one around Rukia!"

"What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"It means why are _you _doing this to _me_?" Miyako elaborated. Rukia blinked. "We've been friends since we were _three _for God's sake Rukia, and for as long as I can remember _I _was the holder of your secrets! But now you have one ― a big one ― that you've had for so long, and you won't _tell _me about it! And every time I try to talk to you, you blow me off! It's driving me _insane _Rukia, and I just need answers! Why can't you let me in?"

Rukia stared, wide-eyed, at Miyako. The girl's calm, cool disposure was completely gone, replaced with one of longing and desperation. And for a moment, Rukia didn't know what to say. She thought she'd done a good job, keeping everything hidden. Last year had been a bit of trouble to cover up for, but she'd let the rumors take care of that. How long had Miyako known Rukia was keeping a secret from her?

Miyako misinterpreted Rukia's silence. "Fine." She said, her voice rough. Rukia thought she saw tears in her friend's eyes. "Fine. I get it. I'll leave you alone. And don't worry, I'll make sure the rumors stop too."

"Miyako―!"

But she was gone. Rukia swallowed deeply, leaning against the wall and pushing back tears of her own. She was losing _everyone_. Ichigo, the bearer of her secret. Miyako, the true victim of _keeping _the secret. Rukia had really messed something up.

* * *

"I haven't seen Kurosaki-kun around for awhile." Hisana said thoughtfully. She was laying in bed next to Byakuya, reading a book. Her husband was reading a report from work. "And Rukia's stopped talking about him. You don't think they had a fight, do you?"

Byakuya didn't answer. Hisana noticed him narrow his eyes at the paper he was reading. "I hope not. I like Kurosaki-kun, he's a nice boy. And he's head over heels for Rukia, have you noticed?"

Still no answer. "Kind of reminds you of _us _at that age, doesn't it?" Hisana asked, wondering why Byakuya was ignoring her. She tried to make her voice light. "Did you ever think, when everything was said and done, we'd end up here?" She waited. When Byakuya didn't answer, she said, "They say a lot of high school romances don't work out. I like to think there are exceptions though. Do you think Rukia and Kurosaki-kun will be as well?"

Byakuya sighed. His wife was a _hopeless _romance. "I don't think Kurosaki will be involved too much in Rukia's future."

Hisana blinked, all thoughts of high school sweethearts driven from her mind. "What?"

Now was as good a time as ever to fill in Hisana on his warning to the orange-haired teen. So Byakuya proceeded to tell Hisana the story about what had happened the day after Christmas. When he finished, Hisana no longer looked dreamy and happy. In fact…she looked almost mad. It worried Byakuya a little.

"Kuchiki Byakuya." Hisana said in a low voice. "How _dare _you say something like that to the boy. What were you _thinking_? You know how easy it is for fathers to scare teenage boys of their daughters―"

"It was too easy." Byakuya said unconcernedly, though Hisana's tone ― right along with her glare ― was _really _starting to scare him now. "If he really cared enough, he wouldn't have let it bother him, but―"

"I don't believe you Byakuya!" Hisana exploded, though quietly so she wouldn't alarm Rukia, who was sleeping just one room over. "I don't know _what _you have against Kurosaki-kun, but I'm telling you _right now _to get over it! Rukia cares about him, and he cares about her, I don't understand why that can't be enough for you!"

Byakuya was too stunned to speak. This was the closest his wife had _ever _come to raising her voice to _anybody_. "I'm going to find a way to fix this." Hisana went on, closing her book and setting aside. "I'll try my hardest to do it without making you look back towards Rukia, but I can't guarantee that Byakuya. I guess it'll depend on how forgiving she is." Hisana turned the table lamp, plunging the room into darkness. "Though if I remember correctly, I know a certain dark-haired Kuchiki boy who hasn't spoken to _his _parents in over twenty years because they didn't approve of his choice for a bride. So I'd think about that if I were you, Byakuya."

Hisana laid down and rolled over. Her breathing soon evened out as she fell asleep. Byakuya stayed sitting up though, reports still clutched in his hands, as he thought about what Hisana had said. He had never meant to alienate Rukia. Just Kurosaki. But if Byakuya lost Rukia over this…

The man sighed, setting his reports aside at last and laying down. He _hated _it when someone put him in his place. And it always seemed to be Hisana doing that.

* * *

Ichigo shoved his hands into his pockets, kicking a rock along as he walked home. He hadn't seen Rukia in school that day, and he was a little worried. So he allowed his feet to carry him to the Kuchiki house, not all together surprised when he saw Hisana sitting out on the front step, sipping a cup of tea and staring at a small, snowy part under a window in front of the house. She was definitely a little strange. She looked up when she noticed someone was watching her, and smiled when she saw Ichigo.

"Hello Kurosaki-kun." She said, setting her tea cup down and standing up.

"Erm…hi." Ichigo said uncertainly. "Why were you…"

"Staring at the ground?" Hisana laughed a little. "Caught me daydreaming. I was just thinking about putting a garden back in there. Rukia and I kept one when she was little, but after she got sick, she wasn't really interested in it anymore, and working in the hot sun wasn't good for her anyway. So we just let it go."

"Speaking of Rukia, is she…around?" Hisana heard the worry in Ichigo's voice and smiled.

"She's all right, if that's what you're asking. She was a little under the weather today ― though personally I just don't think she's getting enough sleep, I hear her moving around at _all _hours ― and she had a doctor's appointment that her father picked her up for about…" Hisana looked down at her watch, "five minutes ago. So no, at the moment, she's not around."

"All right." Ichigo sighed and turned to leave. "Thanks. Tell her…never-mind."

He was just about to turn off the driveway when Hisana called, "Don't let my husband scare you off, Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo looked around, surprised. There was a look of disapproving on Hisana's face. "He told me what happened between you two. If I'd known sooner, I would have put a stop to everything, but he just told me last night. And I'm telling _you_, don't let it scare you off. I know you care about Rukia, and she cares about you, and that's all that matters. Nothing anyone else thinks matters. Byakuya is truly a hypocrite sometimes, he seems to forget that he defied his own family just to marry me ― but that's another story."

Ichigo just stared. And suddenly he'd found exactly what he was looking for. A person to help him get back to Rukia.

"Can you help?" He asked desperately. "I made a mistake, a huge one, and I hate myself for it, I really do. But if I talk to her now…I don't think she'll care very much, to be honest."

Hisana smiled a little.

"I think I can help you out a little. You wouldn't happen to know what a week from this Saturday is, do you?"

* * *

"Some birthday present." Rukia grumbled as she sank back onto the car seat, her arms folded. "Doing errands with you."

"Oh come on." Hisana smiled. "It'll be fun. Anyways, before we do anything, I need to stop at the Kurosaki's―"

"_Why_?" Rukia asked sharply, turning to glare at her mother, who, amazingly, continued to smile.

"I'm borrowing a book from Isshin. And Yuzu wants to see you again, Isshin was telling me she was asking about you…"

Rukia sighed heavily and fell back on her seat again. "Is Ichigo going to be home?"

Hisana just shrugged. And it was with much reluctance that Rukia pulled herself out of the car at the Kurosaki house and up the steps. Hisana had a mischievous smile on her lips as she said, "Isshin told us we could just go right in…"

And suddenly Rukia was _extremely _suspicious. "Mom, what―"

"_Surprise_!" Rukia nearly fell backwards as Hisana opened the door and the lights snapped on. Afterwards all she could do was gape, though she stopped long enough to throw a glare in the direction of her beaming mother.

"Unbelievable." The raven-haired girl murmured. A surprise party. _That _was the whole reason they were there.

Rukia probably would have hurt someone if her eyes hadn't landed on a certain couple standing in the corner. Her eyes widened.

"Hinamori, Hitsugaya-kun!"

Hinamori giggled as she waved to Rukia. Hitsugaya just kind of shrugged. Rukia noted they were holding hands. She had _so _many gloating rights now…

She looked around at who else was there. Despite the loudness of the yelling when she had walked in, there really weren't that many people there. Renji was standing in the back with a girl Rukia could only _guess _to be his off-and-on girlfriend, Rangiku. Yuzu, Karin, and Isshin were standing near a table stocked with presents. Orihime and her husband, Ishida Uryu, were standing near the food table. Rukia took half a second to wonder if any of the food on there was made by Orihime, and sincerely hoped it wasn't. A few more kids from the hospital (most likely invited by Hinamori and Orihime), a few school kids, like Asano Keigo, that didn't think she was a _total _freak (though Miyako was, unsurprisingly, absent)…there _were _quite a few people there. Rukia had to admit, she was a bit surprised. And also a little disappointed. In the midst of it all, there was no shock of orange hair.

Was he really _so _desperate to avoid her he'd vacate his own house for the day?

"Happy birthday Rukia." Hisana whispered in her daughter's ear. Rukia smiled despite herself. Birthday. Right.

It didn't take long for things to get into full swing. Rukia almost instantly hunted down Hinamori, dragging her away from her beloved 'Shirou-chan' so she could get in a few little brags. Hinamori let Rukia have her fun because it was her birthday, even though it was kind of embarrassing. But the girls had fun. Renji jumped on Rukia when Hinamori left to get a drink. The raven-haired girl beat her friend to the chase. "I don't want to talk about Miyako." She said simply, turning to walk away.

About an hour into the party, right when Rukia was starting to really enjoy herself, it happened. She had excused herself from a conversation with Rangiku (who actually turned out to be a really nice person), and was at the food table getting a drink, when someone stepped up behind her and a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders. Thinking it was Renji playing a joke, she raised a hand to hit him when a very un-Renji-like voice whispered in her ear, "Happy birthday Rukia."

A shiver went through Rukia's spine, and she turned her head so fast her neck cracked. "_Ichigo_?"

The orange-haired teen smiled at her shock. "Sorry it took me so long to get here. I had a hard time deciding what to get you. I've been trying for over a week now. Should tell you how good I am at getting presents."

Rukia just stared at him. He was actually there…

She blinked. "Wait. Did you have something to do with this?"

Ichigo laughed a little. "Your mom was the major planner. I just took notes and made phone calls. And emptied my wallet."

Rukia looked over at her mother, who was chatting animatedly with Isshin. "Look," Ichigo brought Rukia's attention back to him, "I made a mistake. A big one. I'd rather not go into the details about it, because I don't want you to end up hating the wrong person…but I want you to know…I care more about you than I ever have about anyone else." He reached out and took her hand, placing a small, velvet box in it. "If you decide that's not good enough for you, I won't blame you, and I'll understand. I just thought I'd tell you…no matter what anyone else ever says, I care. And I promise I'll never hurt you."

Curious, Rukia took the box and opened it. It was stainless steel bracelet, little squares all linked together. There were engravings on three of the squares. One had an I. One had an R. And between those two were a heart. Rukia looked up at Ichigo, her eyes wide. But before she could utter a word, he was kissing her. All thoughts, goo and bad, flew from her head. And she forgot why she had been so upset to begin with.

Hisana watched the teens across the room, a triumphant smile crossing her face. "Hisana you devil." Isshin laughed. "I see you still enjoy your meddling."

"Why Isshin. I have _no _clue what you're talking about." Hisana laughed and took a sip of her drink, watching the teens over the rim of her cup. She hadn't lost her touch yet.

* * *

**Author's Note: **3,530 words. WOWIE! Anyways, I'm going to leave it up to your imagination to decide whether or not Rukia ever finds out about the role her father played in her latest misery, because it isn't mentioned again after this. Oh, and speaking of after this...there's two more chapters of this story, then an epilogue. And the next chapter is a bit of a tragedy. That's all I'll say though. So review please! - Sam


	18. 17 — Miracle

**Miracle – XVII**

Rukia could only stare as she, along with all the others, was ushered through the double doors of the small building. It seemed like such a quaint little place. When Rukia looked at it, her mind conjured up images of an old, white-haired woman, holding a plate of cookies. Who would have thought it was used for something so depressing?

"_Rukia?"_

_Rukia rolled over, shifting under her covers. "Go away," she grumbled, wondering why her mother was waking her up so early on a Saturday._

"_There's a phone call for you"_

"_Tell 'em to call back"_

_It was probably Ichigo. She'd kill him later._

"_It's Hitsugaya-kun"_

_Rukia made a face. Hitsugaya-kun? What the _hell_ did that white-haired little freak want? Rukia was going to murder him._

Somehow, Rukia ended up standing next to Hitsugaya was the waited to be allowed to go into the room. He was staring straight ahead, his hands shoved into his pockets. He looked very out of place in a suit.

"You all right?"

He squinted his eyes at the floor. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"_What do you _want_, Toushirou?" Rukia grumbled into the phone. "Do you have any idea what time it is? I'm gonna murder you."_

_There was silence on the other end. "Hey, _hello_? You called, now what the hell do you want?"_

_More silence. And then, "It's...about Hinamori."_

_Rukia eyes widened. She was awake now. "What? What is it? Is she okay?"_

_More silence. "She...she died last night, Rukia."_

_The floor started spinning under Rukia's feet. "No," she whispered. "No, that's not...you...you're lying..."_

"_I wouldn't lie about something like this, Rukia."_

_There was too much truth in those words. Rukia's hand shook on the receiver. She wondered for a second if maybe she was still asleep. But she knew she wasn't. If this had been a dream, it wouldn't have hurt as much._

Rukia could barely breath as she took her seat next to Hitsugaya. She'd already spoken to Hinamori's parents, and soon found that she could barely even look at them. There was too much pain in their eyes, too much guilt, too many overwhelming emotions. Rukia had muttered a word of apology before darting back to Hitsugaya, the only person there that was closest to her age, who she was on friendly terms with.

"_You _all right, Kuchiki?" Hitsugaya murmured, casting Rukia a side-long glance. "You look kind of pale."

"I'm fine." Rukia muttered back, sliding down in her seat a little.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

_"Hello!" Rukia looked up from the book she was reading. A girl with dark brown hair and even deeper brown eyes was watching Rukia with a smile._

_"Erm…hi?"_

_The girl laughed at Rukia's confusion. "Sorry. I think I'd better start at the beginning. My name's Hinamori Momo. You're…Kuchiki Rukia, right?"_

_"Yeah…" Rukia was confused. Why in the world was this girl even bothering to talk to her? "Is there…something you want?"_

_"Just saying hi." The girl ― Hinamori ― smiled. "I heard you were going to be here for awhile ― you'd be amazed how fast news travels around here, it's almost gossip central. And ― being a long term resident myself ― I thought I'd drop in and say hello. So hello!"_

_Rukia just stared._

"A light in a dark place…touched everyone she came in contact with…" The words rang in Rukia's head. She didn't bother paying attention. Nothing some…some _stranger _said would give a person the true essence of Hinamori Momo. _Rukia _knew Momo. Hitsugaya, who was now blinking furiously, trying to block out tears, knew the real Momo. But the man standing next to the coffin? He didn't know a damn thing.

_"Kuchiki-san, what are you doing?" Rukia jumped as Kotetsu Isane, one of the nurses, walked up behind her. She had, in fact, been spying on Hitsugaya and Hinamori, who were eating together in the cafeteria._

_"Catching the show." The raven-haired girl said unconcernedly, waving a hand at the two fifteen-year-olds. Isane followed Rukia's gaze. A small smile played on her lips._

_"Aw…young love. So sweet."_

_"He's pretty cute." Rukia said. "Hinamori's got fairly good taste, I'll give her that. But his hair color's pretty weird, isn't it?"_

_Hinamori's laugh reached Rukia's ears suddenly, and she looked back just in time to see a small, solemn smile cross Hitsugaya's normally serious face. Rukia smiled. Of course. How could _anyone _not be happy when Hinamori was around?_

_"She's always so happy." Isane said, cocking her head at the brown-haired girl. "I wonder how she does it."_

_Rukia smiled a little, remembering the one thing that Hinamori _always _talked about._

_"Hope."_

Hope. What a strange, stupid word. Hinamori had been filled with it. And where had it gotten her? Into a coffin, with some stranger talking about her like he knew her.

What a joke.

* * *

"She just got back from her best friend's funeral. How do you _expect _her to be?"

Hisana sighed. She'd just commented that she was worried about Rukia, who had been acting strange since she got home. The comment led to a logical comment from Byakuya, of course, who didn't seem overly concerned about his only daughter.

"Really Byakuya, _act _like you care."

Hisana and Byakuya had been on thin ice ever since the former had found out about the latter's meddling in their daughter's personal life. Hisana just couldn't believe how far Byakuya would take interference (and hypocrisy, for that matter). Byakuya couldn't figure out what Hisana was so upset about (actually he could…but he wasn't about to admit it). Rukia had become a touchy subject between her parents.

"Hisana, do you remember attending Masaki's funeral?"

Hisana shuddered. She did. She wished she didn't. "I'll take that as a yes. And Rukia's younger than you were. Imagine how much worse _she _must feel. And Hinamori was even younger. It's not easy."

Hisana sighed. Her husband presented a good point, as always. But that didn't stop her from worrying. "Maybe I should just―"

"_Leave her be_. She needs time to herself once in awhile, without you getting involved―"

"Well isn't _that _ironic." Hisana grumbled, slamming her book shut and walking out. Byakuya sighed as he stared at her back. He'd walked right into that one.

* * *

"Um…Rukia?"

Rukia didn't look up from the book she was reading. Miyako was standing over her, shifting from foot to foot.

"Rukia I know you're not deaf. At least _look _at me."

And she did. "What do you want Miyako?"

The girl sighed. "Look…I'm sorry about your friend. Renji told me―"

"Renji has a big mouth." Rukia huffed, slamming her book shut and standing up. She wished Ichigo was there, but of course, he was out sick that day. "He should mind his own business. Same with you, Miyako."

Miyako went right on the defensive. "Well _excuse _me. I thought I'd try and be nice, what a mistake _that _was. I forgot, you're too good for sympathy."

And she stormed away. Rukia stared after her, tempted to call out, to apologize. It was the first time in _months _that Miyako had so much as spared the raven-haired girl a glance. Out of respect for their past, Rukia could have at least attempted to be nice. But she wasn't in the mood. Her mind was still back with Hinamori's funeral. Time had stopped there.

"Hope." She muttered as the bell rang. She shoved her book into her bag. "My God, that's such a laugh."

She threw a glare at the sky. _Remember what you asked me, Hinamori? You asked if I cared. You asked if I _had _hope. Remember my answer? I don't care. See where hope gets you?_

Against her will, tears welled up in her eyes. She rubbed them away, but more came. "Damn it." She muttered, rubbing harder still. But the tears won in the end. Part of her was saying she should start heading back to class, she was going to be late. But she didn't care anymore. She didn't care. She ran off the school grounds, not sparing a second glance, and not noticing a certain brown-haired girl watching her the entire time.

* * *

"_A-A-Achoo_!"

"Bless you." Yuzu said with a laugh, setting a bowl of soup in front of Ichigo. "Eat up. That'll make you better."

"Be careful." Karin added. "Dad added something to it."

Ichigo pushed the bowl away at once, muttering something under his breath about crazy old men.

It was a little after seven, already mostly dark. The days were slowly starting to get longer, and the weather was getting weirder. Hot and cold, hot and cold. The weather was what was making Ichigo sick. He hated it.

_Ring-Ring_

"I'll get it." Yuzu said quickly, sweeping across the kitchen and grabbing the phone. "Hello?" She listened, then said, "Ichi-nii, it's Kuchiki-san."

"Rukia?" Ichigo said hopefully. He'd been kind of hoping she'd stop by, but then again she didn't need to be hanging around him when he was sick. He'd settle for a phone call though.

"No, her mom."

A little disappointed and a little confused, Ichigo stood up and grabbed the phone from Yuzu, jumping up on the counter as he said, "Hello?"

"Kurosaki-kun?" That was Hisana all right.

"Yeah."

"Have you seen Rukia?"

Déjà vu. "No." Ichigo said, shaking off the familiar-ness of the conversation. "Why, shouldn't she be home by now?"

School had been out for hours. "She's not." Hisana said, obviously worried. "And the teacher from school called ― she never went back to class after lunch."

Ichigo sighed. God that girl was infuriating. "So you haven't heard from her at all?"

"Not since yesterday, no. Sorry." The orange-haired teen shook his head. And suddenly a thought struck him. "I have to go, Kuchiki-san. I think I might know where she is."

"What―"

"'Bye." Ichigo didn't give Hisana a second thought as he hung up and jumped off the counter, grabbing his jacket and shoes.

"Ichi-nii you can't go out!" Yuzu protested.

"Sorry Yuzu, this is important." And he left. Yuzu shook her head at him, muttering something about irresponsible boys.

Ichigo shuffled down the streets of Karakura Town. His destination? The park. A couple of weeks after her birthday, Rukia had introduced him to a special spot in the park that she had fallen in love with when she was twelve. It was, she said, her place to go when she wanted to get away. He was the first person she had shown it to.

Ichigo knew that was where he'd find her.

* * *

Byakuya walked through the streets, knowing full well he wouldn't find Rukia. When she didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be found.

"Kurosaki-kun said he hasn't seen her either." Hisana informed Byakuya when she called him.

So she hadn't even gone running to her orange-haired boyfriend. She must have been _really _upset about something. "He said he had an idea where she might go though." Hisana went on. "Where do you think he meant?"

Byakuya had a vague idea. Rukia had a special spot in the park, a place she thought no one else knew about. But Byakuya did. He'd followed her there once, wanting to find out where she went when she disappeared. Knowing that she hadn't wanted anyone to know about the place, he hadn't said anything to her, content to letting her have her secret.

"Byakuya?"

Had she really shown it to Kurosaki though? Did she trust him that much? "Never-mind, Hisana. I'll call you back in a little while."

Hisana sighed as Byakuya hung up on her. What was it with males and hanging up on her today?

* * *

"Found ya."

Rukia, who had sitting under her tree with her legs curled under her chin, chin resting on her knees, looked up and found Ichigo looking down at her.

"Thought you were sick." She said dully, looking away.

"Word travels fast in this town. I heard a certain midget went missing, and I figured I'd try to be a hero and find her." Rukia snorted, unable to stop herself.

"Some hero. Don't you at least need a weapon?"

"Well, let's talk weapons then. I, for one, would be happy with a giant sword. Sound good?" He wrapped an arm around Rukia's shoulders. "All kidding aside, what's up? S'not like you to skip out on afternoon classes."

Rukia didn't answer. "Are you still thinking about Hinamori?" He guessed. She'd called him as soon as she had hung up with Hitsugaya and told him the news. Ichigo had felt a stab of pain for the energetic girl he had briefly met at Rukia's birthday party. And he knew the two of them had been best friends. He knew it would effect Rukia badly.

"Miyako said something to me today." Ichigo blinked in surprise. "It's the first time she's talked to me in months. And I bit her head right off. I even managed to rip Renji up a little, and he isn't even around. And I knew I should have felt bad, because Miyako was actually being sincere…but all I could think about was Hinamori."

That didn't surprise Ichigo.

"It's not fair." Rukia was talking more to herself now. "She was the most hopeful person I'd ever met, she was that small point of light in that damn hospital, and where did it get her? She's dead now. _She's dead_!"

She was crying now. Ichigo sighed and held her a little tighter. "What good is it, any of it?" She went on. "We're all going to die eventually, right? Some of our times just have to come sooner than others, is that how it's going to be?"

Ichigo didn't like the sound of that at all. "So what are you thinking? That you're going to be next? Rukia―"

"If you'd asked me eight months ago," Rukia went on as if Ichigo hadn't spoken, "I might have said I don't care. I didn't. Hinamori asked me once if I cared about living, and I didn't. But I do now. It's stupid and illogical, but I care more now than I have in years." She bit down on her lip, almost to the point where it bled. "_I want to live_."

Her voice was low and tortured. It tore Ichigo apart. And, forgetting he was sick, forgetting it wouldn't be a good idea to get _her _sick, he tucked his hand under his chin, turned her head so she was facing him, and kissed her.

When he finally pulled away, he saw the shock in her eyes (still filled with tears), the surprise. "You can live." He said quietly. "There's no one saying that you can't except you."

Rukia looked away, her eyes closed. "And the cancer."

"Screw the cancer." Ichigo said harshly. "Haven't you ever heard of a miracle?"

_Miracle_. The word rang in Rukia's mind. So much like _hope_. "They're the same."

"What?" Ichigo sounded confused. Rukia shook her head.

"Never-mind."

Byakuya stood about a hundred feet away, hidden behind a tree, watching Rukia and Ichigo intently. He'd wanted to storm over and tear the orange-haired teen's head off when he had kissed Rukia. But she hadn't seemed to mind so much. In fact…she almost looked happy. In ten years, Byakuya had gotten used to the hopeless look that was always reflected in his daughter's eyes. A look even Hinamori Momo hadn't even able to get rid of. But Kurosaki Ichigo could.

Byakuya turned away. No known force could make him _like _Ichigo. But if he really, truly cared about Rukia…then Byakuya would accept the relationship.

But he would _never _like Ichigo.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Bit of humor in the end, thought I'd make it fun. All and all it was a sad chapter, kind of hard to write. But I managed. Hope you like it. Anyways, riddle me this ― who would like to see one or two spin-offs to this story? I have a couple in mind. Not sequels, exactly ― more like side-stories, about different characters. Here are the ideas:

_**Title:**__ Chocolate and Vanilla_

_**Rating:**__ K+_

_**Summary:**__ ―Miracle Spin-Off, Hitsugaya/Hinamori― They only spent two months together. But they were the best two months of the young teens' lives ―AU―_

--00000--

_**Title: **__The Twist of Love_

_**Rating: **__K+ or T (undecided)_

_**Summary: **__―Miracle Spin-Off, Byakuya/Hisana― They were complete opposites in every way. And they were the ones that lasted ―AU―_

If either (or both) of those sound any good, let me know. I've been toying with them for awhile, I actually already typed the first chapter of _Chocolate and Vanilla _(which takes place during the summer before _Miracle_, in case you're wondering). And I'm just playing with _The Twist of Love _(which takes place during Byakuya's and Hisana's high school years). So…let me know. Review! ― Sam


	19. 18 — Confessions

**Note: **Kudos to **Daughter of Unending Darkness, **who's review sparked the idea for this chapter, therefore giving the story one more chapter than I originally planned. Kudos!

* * *

**Miracle ― XVIII**

"No Kuchiki-san today?"

Ichigo, who had been sleeping with his head on his desk, jerked awake as the teacher's voice rang through the room, starting the day. He looked over at Rukia's desk. Sure enough, said desk was empty. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at her empty desk, wondering where she was.

"Well then, Kurosaki-kun, will you take her work to her?"

Ichigo blinked as his name was said. There were a few snickers as the teacher waited expectantly for Ichigo's answer. "Er…yeah. Sure."

How easy it was for everyone to label them a couple now. Of course, they had Miyako to thank for that. Rukia's annoying friend who had _insisted _on spreading rumors. Annoying.

The day passed more or less uneventfully. Without Rukia, Ichigo was forced to each lunch with Keigo, who was thrilled to have his best friend back. Ichigo got annoyed after only five minutes, a new record for Keigo.

The orange-haired teen was glad when school ended. He got a folder from the teacher and darted out of school, mentally calculating how many more days he had left until graduation.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

He had just left the school grounds when the unfamiliar voice reached his ears. He looked over his shoulder and found a brown-haired girl with dark eyes standing behind him. Miyako.

"What?" He turned around fully, not caring that he sounded rude. This girl had caused Rukia a lot of frustration, he had no reason to want to talk to her. Miyako shifted from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable.

"You're uh…going to see Rukia, right?" She asked, then hurried on before Ichigo could answer. "Could you give her this?"

She shoved a folded up piece of paper into Ichigo's hands then turned and took off in the other direction. Ichigo stared after her, then looked down at the note in he had just received. What was the girl playing at?

* * *

"This _sucks_." Rukia groaned, leaning back no her pillow. She waited for an answer, but all she got was a sneeze. "Bless you."

"Thanks." Renji said, his voice thick. Rukia bit her lip to keep from laughing. Renji sounded so weird when he was sick. The two friends had spent most of the afternoon on the phone with each other. Their parents were going to ground them for eternity when they saw how high the phone bill was, but they didn't care. They needed _someone _for company, as they were both currently home alone.

"Oh yeah." Renji said suddenly, as if he had just remembered something. "My mom wants to know when your graduation is."

"Why?" Rukia asked, surprised.

"_Why_?" Renji repeated. "Because she wants to see you and Miyako graduate, stupid. And I think she wants to meet Ichigo too."

"Ichi―?"

"She listens to my phone conversations. Sorry." Renji truly sounded it too. Rukia just rolled her eyes before telling Renji the date.

"What about yours? That is, if you actually manage _to _graduate."

"Haha." Renji grumbled sarcastically. "It's about a week after yours. And I _will _graduate."

"Well that's good. I'll have to make sure I'm talking to Miyako by then, because she's going to owe me money."

"For _what_?"

"She put money on you graduating. I put money on you _not _graduating. And until I see it with my own eyes, I won't believe that you'll actually manage to."

"You'll come all the way up here just to see me graduate?" Renji asked incredulously. "Do you think that's such a good idea?"

"Don't start." Rukia grumbled under her breath. "I don't need anymore people worrying about my health, all right? Just…don't."

"Okay, okay. So―"

_Ding-Dong_

"Oh _man_." Rukia groaned and threw the covers over her head, sighing.

"What's up?"

"Someone's at the door. Screw it, if it's important, they'll come back."

"Lazy."

"Damn straight."

Renji just laughed. "So, as I was saying―"

Without warning the blankets flew off of Rukia. She yelled in surprise and fear, alarming Renji at once.

"What, what is it?"

Rukia looked around, her eyes wide with surprise. And they fell on the laughing orange-haired teen standing in the corner, clutching her blanket.

"Rukia―!"

"You _ass_!" Rukia snapped, grabbing her pillow and throwing it at Ichigo, who didn't even bother deflecting it before it slammed him in the face. The boy continued laughing. "Renji, I have to go." Rukia fumed into the phone.

"What's up? Should I call the police?"

"Yeah, they're going to have to arrest me for _murder_." Rukia hung up the phone to Renji's laughter. "How the hell did you get in here?" She shot at Ichigo, who was finally starting to calm down.

"You guys keep a spare key in the planter in case you lock yourselves out." Ichigo said simply. Rukia scowled, trying to remember when she had told him _that_. "Anyways, here." He threw a folder down on her bed. "Everything you missed today."

"Thanks a bunch." Rukia grumbled, picking up the folder. Luckily it didn't look like much. With finals so close, the teachers weren't bothering to teach them anything new. "Well, whatever. I'll have it done for tomorrow."

"You'll be in school tomorrow?" Ichigo asked, surprised. He sat down on the bed and rested a hand on her forehead. She pushed it away, looking annoyed.

"Please. My parents are the _only _people I need worrying about me right now. Don't start."

"All right, all right. Leave my head on please."

"I should take it off anyway." She said, a little grumpily. "For scaring me like that. You're such an asshole."

Ichigo grinned. "Sorry. I didn't mean to. So did you mean what you said about murdering me?"

"Every last word. Just come a little closer. I don't feel like moving."

Ichigo inched towards the door, just a little fearful for his life now. There was no doubt in his mind that, had he been anyone else, Rukia would have killed him. But he was Ichigo. So instead of worrying _too _much that Rukia would kill him, he simply said, "Do you want help with that work?"

"You really wanna come near me when I'm armed with a pen?" Ichigo smirked.

"If I get to be close to you, I guess I'll take that chance." That softened her at once. She made a face.

"I don't really need help. But…company would be nice."

"So where is everyone?" Ichigo asked as he settled himself on the edge of her bed. She started going through the folder.

"Dad's working. Mom's grocery shopping. She really didn't want to leave, but I told her too. She doesn't need to spend all her time worrying." Rukia pulled a paper out of the folder at random. "This looks easy."

It was the review sheet for math. "What's your idea of _easy_, again?"

Rukia laughed and grabbed the pen that was sitting on her bedside table. The cap, Ichigo noticed, was chewed almost in half. Rukia enjoyed biting her pens, for some odd reason.

"You forget, I spent an entire school-year working with the hospital tutor, who probably knows more than every teacher in our school _combined_. I learned a thing or two."

Ichigo scowled. "Damn you and smartness."

"Thanks."

"You're very welcome."

Rukia just rolled her eyes, smiling, as she started scribbling down answers to the problems in front of her. She was right. She _didn't _need help.

"All right, I get it, you're a brainiac. Do you _need _to keep showing off?"

"Yeah, I do." She didn't even look up from her paper. "I'm proving to you that I'm better than you in any and every way possible. And that includes being smarter than you."

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo challenged, smirking. He grabbed the folder away from Rukia and, before a protest could escape her lips, he kissed her. "Are you better than me at _that_?" He said when he pulled away.

"Of course I am."

"Prove it."

And, knowing full well that she was doing _exactly _what he wanted, she leaned in and kissed him right back.

"Well?" She asked with a laugh when she sat back again. Ichigo blinked.

"I don't know. I couldn't really tell. Better try again."

And she did. With pleasure.

Neither of them noticed the bedroom door open.

"Oh!" They jumped and looked around in surprise. Hisana was standing in the door, fighting with the smile that was threatening to cross her lips. And losing terribly. "Hello Kurosaki-kun. I didn't know you were here."

"Sorry Kuchiki-san." Ichigo said at once, hoping he sounded respectful. He was still a bit high from the kiss. "I was just here to drop off Rukia's work―"

"I could tell." A small laugh escaped Hisana's lips before she turned away. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

And she was gone. "Ten dollars says she's going to call your father." Rukia grumbled as she took her work back from Ichigo. "The gossip hotline."

Ichigo laughed, but on the word gossip he remembered something. "Oh, Miyako gave me this." He pulled the note out of his pocket. "To give to you."

Rukia took it and, without so much as a second glance, threw it on her bedside table. "I'll read it later." She said indifferently. Ichigo made a face.

"You sure about that? She's trying you know?"

Rukia sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's just…hard. Thinking about this year…I'll let her sweat for a little while more. Don't worry, I _will _talk to her, though. Renji's been saying forever that I should."

"So _I'm _more influential then _Renji_?" Ichigo asked, smirking. "Go me!"

Rukia rolled her eyes. That was going to go _right _to his head.

* * *

"Are you _sure _you feel okay enough to go to school?" Hisana asked, a little unsure, as she gave her daughter a once over. Rukia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah Mom, I'm fine. More than fine. I'll be okay, don't worry."

Okay, so most of that was a lie. She felt _okay_, she probably could have used another day of bed-rest, but she'd be fine enough to get through school. Then she'd come home and crash. No big deal.

"Rukia, _please _take it easy today." Hisana cautioned as her daughter made her way towards the door. Rukia just rolled her eyes again.

"Don't _worry_, Mom. I'll _fine_."

"She's never going to grow up with you smothering her." Byakuya said from behind the morning paper. Hisana sighed.

"And what of you? I notice you've been very…_liberal, _lately, considering you know the way she spends most of her time."

"I've decided that Rukia is old enough to make her own decisions ― and mistakes, if it should come to that." Byakuya hoped it wouldn't. Hisana raised an eyebrow at the paper hiding her husband.

"Right. So who knocked some sense into you?"

"Hisana, you should really stop meddling. It's going to get you in to trouble some day." Hisana laughed as she gently jerked the paper from her husband's hands and kissed him.

"You know you love me."

"I _have _to. It's the only way I tolerate you."

Hisana just laughed again.

* * *

"Do you feel okay, Rukia?"

It was lunchtime. Ichigo had gone over to Rukia's desk so they could walk out together. He had noticed that the raven-haired girl was unnaturally pale ― even for her.

"I feel fine." Her voice was as strong as ever, of course. "Come on, let's go."

Neither of them noticed Miyako in the back of the room, eating by herself, listening to the conversation.

"Are you sure?"

"_Yes_." Rukia stood up, looking thoroughly annoyed now. "Jeez Ichigo, you sound like my…my…"

As soon as she stood up the classroom had started spinning. She groaned and rested a hand on her head, trying to make everything still again.

"Rukia?" Ichigo asked cautiously, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you…all right?"

"Fine, fine." She shook his hand off, taking a step forward. "And you sound like my mother, for the record."

Normally Ichigo would have shot back some sarcastic remark. But right then he was too worried about Rukia, who was swaying slightly now.

"Rukia…"

Without warning her knees buckled. "_Rukia_!" Ichigo's panicked voice as he dove to grab Rukia was joined by another. In a flash, Miyako was at Ichigo's side, looking worriedly at Rukia. The girl's head was rested against Ichigo's chest, her breathing labored and uneven.

The teacher, who had been at the front of the room talking to another student, made her way back at once, concern etched all over her face. "What happened?"

Ichigo was too busy trying to wake Rukia up to bother with the teacher, so Miyako answered. "She…fainted. I think. Should I get the nurse?"

"No, go to the office, have them call an ambulance. The nurse won't be able to help her." Miyako nodded and took off. Ichigo never took his eyes off Rukia.

* * *

"Kurosaki-kun…what's wrong with Rukia?"

Ichigo looked up in surprise. Those were the first words Miyako had spoken since they had taken their seats in the waiting room. Ichigo had left the girl long enough to find a payphone and call Hisana. After leaving a message on the answering machine, he'd gone back to wait. It had been nearly half an hour.

"Don't say you don't know." Miyako added before Ichigo could say just that. "I know you do, I know Rukia would tell _you_. She trusts you much more than she's _ever _trusted me."

There was a note of bitterness in Miyako's calm voice. Ichigo felt compelled to try and contradict the girl. "That's not true." He said finally. "You're Rukia's best friend―"

"I _was_." Miyako sighed heavily. "I _really _screwed things up with her. It just made me so mad…she was suffering on some way, and she wouldn't let me in, she wouldn't let me help her…and that's all I've ever wanted. I just want to help her. But she made me so mad, keeping her secrets, not letting me in…and I know she told _you_, because of the way you started acting towards her…I just hated it. And I messed everything up. Renji was right, I _don't _know how to deal with my feelings." She laughed bitterly. "I just thought he was trying to protect Rukia like he always did. He had a crush on her when we were twelve, you know. But long-distance relationships never work out. Anyways, he always stuck up for her, so I figured this time was no different then all the others. I suppose he knows the secret too?"

Ichigo saw no point in lying. He nodded Miyako gave another bitter laugh. "No surprise. I'm the only one in the dark."

She looked expectantly at Ichigo, who shook his head. "I'm sorry. It's not for me to tell you. That's up to Rukia―"

"Who won't tell me!" Miyako sprang up, tears in her eyes now. "_Please _Kurosaki-kun, if you don't tell me I'll never know, I just want to help―"

"I can't." Ichigo said quietly. "It's about Rukia, not me. That's something you'll have to take up with her."

Miyako glared at him through her tear-filled eyes and turned to run out, running almost headlong into Hisana, who jumped back in surprise.

"Miyako―"

The girl didn't wait another second. In one swift motion she swept past Hisana and down the hall, out of sight. Ichigo sighed. Hisana looked after her in surprise, then turned back to Ichigo, who just shook his head, sighing. Hisana looked weary as she dropped into Miyako's vacated seat.

"Have they told you anything?"

Ichigo shook his head again. "I wish they would. I'm worried."

"What happened?"

Ichigo explained the short scene at school. Hisana listened, a small smile crossing her face. "It's gonna be _impossible _to get Rukia back to school _now_. She's not going to want to face anyone."

Ichigo laughed shortly. The sound was weird in his ears. "Yeah, probably not. But that's just Rukia for you."

Hisana's smile was short-lived as she down the hallway. "I knew I should have kept her home today. But she insisted…"

"So of course you'd never be able to stop her." Ichigo rolled his eyes. "When Rukia gets an idea in her head, _nothing _can stop her."

"That sums her up quite nicely, actually." Hisana agreed. "Still…I shouldn't have let her just leave."

Before Ichigo could say there was no point in Hisana blaming herself, the doctor that had taken Rukia came into the waiting room. Hisana stood up at once, worry filling her eyes.

"Dr. Kaname―?"

The doctor smiled pleasantly. "Rukia's all right, Kuchiki-san, other than being sick, of course. But you know what a normal cold can do to her, with her immune system―"

Ichigo bit his lip, suddenly guilty. A cold. That was exactly what he'd had the day he had kissed her. Was this _his _fault?

"I'd like to keep her for a couple of days―"

"Oh Rukia will _love _that." Hisana said with a content sigh, smiling. "Well, as long as she's all right, I don't care."

The doctor laughed a little. Apparently _he _knew Rukia as well as they did. "Would you like to see her?"

Hisana started to nod, then looked back at Ichigo, who had his hands shoved into his pockets and was looking at the floor. "Can he see her first?" The woman asked. Ichigo looked up in surprise.

"If he wants." Kaname said, looking between Hisana and Ichigo in surprise. Normally it was next to _impossible _to keep Hisana from Rukia's side when she was in the hospital. "Down the hall, third door to your left." He told Ichigo, masking the surprise quickly. "She's asleep now, though."

"Got it." Ichigo gave Hisana a small smile before starting down the hall. Kaname stared after him, waiting until he had gone into Rukia's room before looking back at Hisana. "One of her school friends?"

"Oh he's _so _much more." Kaname laughed.

Ichigo looked down at Rukia's still, small form. He _hated _seeing her in a hospital bed. It hurt too much. "Hey Rukia." He sighed as he grabbed the chair from the corner and sat down, slipping his hand into her smaller one. "You really scared me you know. Idiot. You shouldn't have come to school if you were still sick. Idiot."

He thought for a minute, then went on. "Guess it's my fault though, eh? I was such an idiot, I wasn't thinking…I should have known better. But for heaven's sake, it was just a cold…no excuse though, I guess. Like I said, I'm an idiot. Stupid. Whatever you want to call me. I'm sorry."

He sighed, dropping his head to look at his knees. "I'm sorry." He muttered again. "So…so sorry."

He shifted his eyes to look at her, then looked down again. "I wish it didn't have to be this way, Rukia. I know you didn't ask for this, any of this, and I know it's not your fault, but I still wish it didn't have to be like this. I hate seeing you like this. It hurts…a lot."

He sighed, holding her hand a little tighter. "I never really thought about it before." He muttered, more to himself than to her. "I mean, I know I care about you, I know I worry about you…but those are all things _friends _do. And you…you're so much more than a friend to me. I love you, Rukia."

And the second he said it, he knew he meant it. And so did she. "About time." Her soft, hoarse voice drew Ichigo's gaze back to her. His temper flared at once.

"How long were you listening to me?!" He raged, forgetting where he was. A small laugh escaped Rukia's lips as her eyes opened carefully and she pushed herself into more of a sitting position.

"Pretty much right when you started talking."

"You…you…" There were no words bad enough for Ichigo to call Rukia now. "I don't believe you!"

She laughed again. "And I love you too."

Well. That wiped all angry thoughts from Ichigo's mind. After a blank minute he reached out and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into a hug. She sighed contently and returned the hug, resting her head on his chest.

"You have no idea what that means to me." He murmured.

"Oh, I think I do."

Neither of them noticed Hisana out in the hall. The woman was biting down on her bottom lip to keep from laughing.

"A busy-body as always." A quiet voice said behind her. She'd called Byakuya at work, and he'd left at once.

"You're standing here listening too." She pointed out to her husband, who wasn't quick enough to conceal the knowing smirk on his face. "So…looks like our little girl isn't so little, anymore. She's in love. What do you think, Byakuya?"

Byakuya shrugged, indifferent. "He's okay for her."

Hisana just rolled her eyes and looked back at the couple. Well, whatever Byakuya said, she knew Ichigo was much, _much _more than _okay _for Rukia. He was _exactly _what she needed.

* * *

**Author's Note - **I realized that I'd never done an official love confession in this story so...I did one. Anyways...review please. One more chapter, then an epilogue (for real this time). - Sam


	20. 19 — Graduation

**Author's Note - **Time skip in this chapter. Going forward a few months

* * *

**Miracle – XXIV**

Rukia smiled as she curled up into Ichigo's arms. It was the day before graduation. They were currently in the park watching the sun set and relaxing. "One more day." She whispered, leaning her head against his chest and closing her eyes. Ichigo ran his hand through her silky raven hair. A small smile played over his own lips.

"Got your speech ready?" No one had been exactly surprised when they found out Rukia was going to be the class Valedictorian. Even if she had lost a year, she was a smart, and had gotten A's on pretty much every assignment they'd had.

"Yup." She said, "One hundred and fifty of the boringest ways to be a good person." Ichigo laughed, not sure if Rukia was actually kidding.

"You're not serious, are you?"

"What if I was?" Rukia challenged. "Those people in our class made my life a living hell this year, I think revenge is on the menu for me."

"And what about me?"

"Sorry you have to suffer."

A last burst of orange spread through the sky...and then the sun was gone. Rukia looked up at the sky as dusk set in. "We should probably get going." She said, though she made no move to get up. "My parents will be worried...your dad might start to worry..."

"What do you think they would say if we just spent the night here?" Ichigo asked as he wrapped his arms around Rukia's small body.

"I don't think they'd _say _anything. I think they'd kill us." She thought about that for a second, "Well, my dad would kill _you, _at any rate"

"How does that one work?"

"I dunno. But I don't think he likes you."

"What was your _first_ clue?!" Rukia laughed. Ichigo treasured the smile on her face. It was a priceless thing.

"We really should get going." Ichigo said after about half an hour. Stars were starting to come out now. Again, neither made to move.

"Rukia?"

She groaned a little. Ichigo had a feeling she had been falling asleep. "Yeah Ichigo?"

"Sorry for bothering you, but I'm curious-"

"Dangerous thing, you're curiousity."

"Why do you love me?"

Rukia didn't answer right away. Her eyes drifted towards the starry sky above her as she contemplated her answer. "Well...why do you love me?"

Ichigo should have known she would do that. The artful dodger. "Because," he said quietly, slipping his hand into hers and kissing her neck lightly, "life without you wouldn't be worth living."

"Mmm." Rukia made a noise in the back of her throat as she leaned her head against Ichigo's. "I like that answer."

--0000000000000000--

Somehow the seating arrangements for the graduation ceremony worked to no one's advantage. Kuchiki Hisana and Byakuya ended up sitting next to Kurosaki Isshin, Karin, and Yuzu. Yuzu was fussing with the camera while Karin's eyes skimmed the book she had brought. Isshin was talking a mile a minute about how proud he was of his boy. Hisana was kind enough to listen to her old friend, but Byakuya was less than pleased. He kept looking down at his watch. "So." Isshin said suddenly. "Ichigo told me Rukia-chan was the Valedictorian. You must be proud of her."

"We are." Hisana said with a smile.

"I miss Rukia-chan." Yuzu pouted. "She doesn't come over as much anymore."

"That's because her and Ichi-nii are too busy with each other." Karin said as she turned the page of her book. She didn't notice the look of horror that flashed over Byakuya's face.

"What do you mean?" Yuzu asked as she held up the camera to test the view she had.

"Well they-"

"I don't think we need details," Byakuya cut the girl off harshly. Isshin grinned.

"What's wrong Byakuya?" the older Kurosaki asked kiddingly. "Your daughter's growing up you know, she's going to-"

"That's enough now," Hisana said, intervening into a possible fight. "Come on, let's just enjoy ourselves...look, it's starting..."

The first part of the ceremony was pretty much boring. The principal made a long, boring speech, the head of the school-board made a long, boring speech, the class president made a long, boring speech. Finally it was Rukia's turn. Everyone watched with interest as she stood in front of the podium. Ichigo, for one, was interested to hear her speech, remembering the jokes she made last night about how boring it was.

Rukia looked around. There were a lot of people, but that was to be expected. She wasn't one to get stage fright anyway. But as she looked around again, she began to feel dizzy. _No, not now_, she pleaded silently. That was the last thing she needed, faint in the middle of graduation.

Hisana sat up a little straighter, watching intently as Rukia held on to the sides of the podium, her eyes closed tightly. "What's wrong?" Yuzu whispered. "Is she okay?"

Whispers were breaking out now. Ichigo watched as Rukia took a couple of deep breaths, then opened her eyes again. A small smile spread over her face as she spoke.

"Guess I just can't win, huh?" Her voice was light, though her face was a little tense. "I had this whole speech prepared about how we're graduating, and how we have to be better people now...it was really boring, now that I think about it, so I guess I'll scrap it. How about instead of talking about what we do _after _high school, I talk about what we've done so far?"

Many people exchanged confused looks, Ichigo among them. Had Rukia lost her mind? "Guess I sound pretty crazy, huh?" She'd read hismind. "Maybe I should elaborate. When you were little, maybe six or seven or eight, I'm sure you had plans. I'm sure you knew exactly what you wanted to be when you got older, didn't you?" she paused as everyone nodded, "But...things don't go exactly as you plan. There are little bumps in the road, little things that upset everything you've ever planned out. And suddenly your life isn't going the way you want it to. If nobody minds, I'll use myself as an example for this." Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't take them off Rukia. "You see, when _I _was eight, I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up. I had every little detail planned. But that didn't exactly plan out. You see, when I was eight..." She paused. Then she took a deep breath and said, "When I was eight...I was diagnosed with Leukemia."

Ichigo's mouth dropped. In the audience, Hisana and Byakuya exchanged wide looks. Had Rukia really just said that?

Rukia waited for a minute, long enough for everyone to take in this piece of information before she went on, "I'm not trying to get pity, so don't give it to me. I'm just telling you, I know how it feels, when your plans are upset. But I also know that even with those bumps, something good comes with it. Something – or some_one_ – who will help you out no matter what. Whether it's right after the bump, or ten years later. It's just a matter of _waiting _for that help, and never giving up no matter what. You just have to keep your head up each day. I think I realized that a little too late. Better late than never, but still, it's something to keep in mind. Even if things don't always work out the way you planned, something better may always come out of it. It's just a matter of being patient and waiting for that something to come along."

She paused. Silence followed the speech. Ichigo had a feeling that everyone was still stuck back on her startling announcement. Ichigo had to admit, he was a little surprised as well. But then, one by one, everyone started applauding. It was scattered at first, but then it picked up. A few whistles echoed through the room as well. Rukia's violet eyes sought out Ichigo. When she found him, he was smiling. She smiled as well.

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. Before long everyone was milling outside, talking excitedly with parents and friends. They'd graduated. High School was over. Somehow it felt like less of an accomplishment then Rukia would have guessed.

Rukia looked around as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She had a split second to see Miyako before she was practically knocked over, as the latter drew the former into a tight hug. "Ah! Miyako...air..."

"Sorry!" Miyako groaned at once, pulling away. "But jeez, Rukia...why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Sorry." Rukia muttered, pushing a strand of hair behind her eyes. "It just never seemed like the right time...I didn't think you'd understand...I didn't want to lose you as a friend. Not that it mattered, in the end I did anyway-"

"Says who?" Miyako asked sternly. "All friends go through rough patches Rukia, that doesn't mean their lost."

Rukia smiled gratefully, and Miyako drew her into another, much gentler hug. "Oi!" A loud, familiar voice echoed towards Miyako and Rukia. Both girls looked up, grinning.

"Renji!" Their old, crimson-haired friend fought his way through the crowd towards them. Miyako threw her arms around him, grinning.

"You came!"

"Of course I did," Renji scoffed, "What, you think I'd miss this?"

"Well, knowing you-"

"Ah, shut up," He grinned over at Rukia, and slugged her playfully on the arm. The girl smirked. "Great speech."

"It wasn't too boring?"

"Nah, I think you had everyone's interest," Renji smirked, "Anyways, we have to go soon, but my mom wants to see you guys before we leave-"

They started off. "So Renji," Rukia asked conversationally, "How's your girlfriend?"

Renji turned bright red. "Girlfriend?!" Miyako squealed, "Jeez, why am I always the last to find out everything?!"

Before Renji could answer, they found his mother. She was talking with Rukia's parents and Ichigo's father. The orange-haired teen was standing a little ways off with his sisters. "Rukia-san, Miyako-san!" Abarai-san gushed when she saw them, "Congratulations!"

"Thanks Abarai-san," Miyako and Rukia exchanged embarrassed smiles. Hisana smiled as she wrapped her arms around Rukia and hugged her tightly.

"Great speech." She whispered into her daughter's ear. Rukia blushed deeply, but allowed herself smile just a little.

"You think so?"

"And you've gotten so tall." Abarai-san was currently babbling on about Miyako. Unlike Rukia, Renji and Miyako hadn't stayed in touch as well. This was the first time they'd seen each other since they were six.

"Yeah, that happens when you get older."

"Didn't happen to Rukia, I notice." Renji said with a smirk. Rukia didn't waste a moment in getting up on her tip-toes and slapping him as hard she could manage. Miyako burst out laughing as she watched Renji pout.

"Hey," A voice breathed in Rukia's ear. She looked around, her face splitting into a wide grin. Ichigo was leaning down next to her, smirking.

"Hey." She wrapped her arms tightly around Ichigo's neck. Behind her, she heard Miyako say, sounding a little hurt, "You knew, didn't you Renji? About Rukia, I mean."

Renji sighed. "Yeah. I knew."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"She didn't want me to. She's my friend, Miyako, I had to-"

"_I'm _your friend too, you know!"

"Of course you are. But this was...big. I couldn't just go behind her back. She made me promise. And she would have killed me if I broke that promise."

"True."

"Besides...it was kind of fun, being between your fight."

"Oh come on!"

Rukia laughed as she turned back to Miyako, who was now pouting. "Miyako, if you want to hear everything, then you'd better clear a couple days in your schedule."

"Hey, I'm done with school, I have all the time in the world. What days are good for you?"

"Well, I'm clear just about every day next week-"

Everyone laughed, and even solemn Byakuya managed a small, extremely small smile. Ichigo slipped his hand into Rukia's, and she leaned against his arm, smiling For the first time in a long time, Rukia felt at ease with her life. Everything seemed perfect.

* * *

**Author's Note **- Epilogue next...we'll see how that turns out. Review please! - Sam


	21. —Epilogue— A True Miracle

**Miracles - Epilogue**

_March 31st, 2010 ― Two Years Later_

Kurosaki Ichigo kneeled down on the soft ground, a small bouquet of violets clutched tightly in his left hand. He ran his right hand over the letters on the gravestone in front of him.

_Kuchiki Rukia_

_January 14, 1990 - March 31st, 2009_

_"Your place in our hearts will last forever"_

In the last year of her life, Rukia had taken a drastic turn. The year before, she'd been in remission. Then the cancer had come back. With a vengeance.

Ichigo set the flowers down at the base of the gravestone. "Hey Rukia. How's it going?"

_Ichigo grumbled angrily as he dragged himself out of bed. Whoever was calling this early in the morning was going to get a real piece of his mind. "Hello?" he said gruffly, not really caring who was calling._

_"Kurosaki-kun?" the phone nearly slipped from Ichigo's hands. It was Kuchiki Hisana._

_"K-Kuchiki-san? What's wrong? Is it Rukia?"_

"Kurosaki-kun," Ichigo looked around. Rukia's mother was standing behind Ichigo, looking down at him. Like him, she had a small bouquet of violets in her hands. "I had a feeling I'd find you here," Hisana walked over to Ichigo and kneeled down next to him. She imitated Ichigo's action of running her hand over the letters in Rukia's name. A small smile crossed the older woman's lips as she quietly mouthed the her daughter's name.

Ichigo was too busy taking in Hisana's sudden appearance to really notice what she was saying. After Rukia had died, Hisana and Byakuya had been unable to face their daughter's grave. Ichigo knew that, in a way, they blamed themselves, though he wasn't sure how they could. They'd done everything they could, after all...

_Ichigo's mind was blissfully numb. He was too busy trying to take in what Hisana had just told him to really notice that tears were trying desperately to escape his amber eyes. He'd known it was coming, of course; the last year, Rukia had deteriorated, fast. But he hadn't expected it so soon..._

_"Can I see her?" he finally muttered, "Please?"_

_He expected Byakuya to say no, and the older man looked ready to do just that, but Hisana cut across her husband. "Of course."_

_And with that, Ichigo stepped into Rukia's room. She was in her bed, asleep, her breathing raspy and her body shaking. Ichigo just stared at her for a moment. Precious seconds were being taken away with each breath she took..._

_He sat down in the chair next to her bed and took her hand in his. She stirred slightly, and her eyes opened a little, enough so that Ichigo could take in the shocking violet color - one last time. "I-Ichigo?"_

_"Yeah." he murmured, "Yeah, it's me"_

_"I...I'm sorry." That took Ichigo by surprise._

_"For _what_?"_

_"For not being able to keep my promise." Ichigo bit his lip, willing the tears not to spill over. Rukia, being Rukia, would worry if he started crying. But how in the world could she think of that at a time like _this_?_

_"It's just a stupid promise," he muttered, reaching out and running his free hand through her raven hair, "I don't even care about it. It's _you _I care about, Rukia," he stopped for a second, trying to recollect himself. This was the last time he'd be able to say it..._

_"I love you"_

_A small smile played around her lips. "I love you too," and her eyes drifted close again. Ichigo was shaking, but he didn't let go of her hand. Byakuya and Hisana were in the room as well, standing at the end of the bed. Byakuya's arm was wrapped tightly around his wife's shaking shoulders. "Mom, Dad?" How Rukia knew her parents were there, Ichigo could never guess. It was one of those things. "Thank you. For everything."_

_Tears were slipping down Hisana's cheeks. Even emotionless Byakuya was working hard not to cry. Rukia didn't speak anymore after that. Her chest was no longer rising and falling; it was still. Her small hand was already beginning to lose heat; Ichigo could feel it. But he didn't let go._

A soft hand played over Ichigo's cheek, wiping away a single tear that had fallen. "Sorry." Hisana whispered. "I hate seeing people cry though."

"Sorry I'm crying." He muttered, reaching his hand up to wipe the tears out of his eyes. "So stupid...she'd probably hit me if she saw me crying."

Hisana laughed a little at that. Very little. She knew it was true, after all

_WHAM!_

_Ichigo had left Rukia's room, leaving the girl with her parents. This wasn't his place, he was intruding. So he went down to the living room, debating on whether or not to leave. A loud crash brought him back to reality, however. His fist, the one that he didn't remember swinging, was crushed against the wall, red blood slipping down the bright white paint. He made no move, however, to back away from the wall. It wasn't until a hand wrapped itself around his wrist that he pulled back; Kuchiki Hisana had come down to investigate the source of the noise. "Sorry," Ichigo muttered, looking down at his hand and flexing it; nothing broken._

_"It's all right." Hisana said. Her face was still tear-streaked, but she managed to with-hold some sort of dignity. "Are you okay?"_

_He thought about this for a second. "No. I'll never be okay."_

"She'd want you to be happy, Kurosaki-kun." Hisana said quietly. "You shouldn't spend the rest of your life grieving. She'd want you to move on."

"I won't spend the rest of my life grieving." He said. "But I doubt I'll ever fall in love again either. Nothing will ever be the same after her."

Hisana nodded. She understood

_Ichigo clenched his fists in his lap, refusing to look up. He knew if he looked up, looked at the wooden box in which the girl he loved was laying, he'd cry. And if he cried, he may never stop._

_He was at Rukia's funeral. Hisana had just finished trying to deliver a eulogy. It had gone quite badly though; Byakuya had to lead her away from the podium, she was crying too hard to make the way on her own. Now it was his turn to get up there and deliver a speech. But he wasn't sure his legs were working properly._

_After a minute though, he stood up and, with legs that felt more like water, he stumbled over to the podium. "Er..." He looked around at the small group. A few kids from school were there, Keigo among them. For once his life he actually looked solemn. Inoue Orihime, the nurse from the hospital, as well as her husband, Ishida Uryu, were also there, and Hitsugaya Toushirou, one of her two old hospital friends, as well as Rukia's friend Renji, who was resting a hand on Miyako's leg (the girl was crying into her hands). Ichigo's family was there also; they'd grown attached to Rukia in the time they had known her._

_"Look..." Ichigo took a deep breath. "I don't exactly...I didn't prepare a speech. Now I know you probably think I'm being insensitive or something, but that's not it at all. I didn't prepare a speech because...there's nothing preparable to say about Kuchiki Rukia. She wasn't a person, she was a hurricane. She blew into my life and changed it in more ways than I thought possible, and I'm sure she did the same with all of you. Rukia...she had this way of taking something, and making it into something completely different. But when I met Rukia...she wasn't the person I knew she could be. She was sick, and scared and...hollow. She felt as if she had nothing left for her. Seeing her that way...it made me feel terrible, looking at her, and knowing she could be so much more. And I...I wanted to help her. And I tried. Really I did. But the more I got to know her, the more I realized she was out of my reach. Because...nine out of ten times, you can't help her."_

_He stopped. He didn't have anything more to say. After a minute, someone in the back started clapping. Then, one my one, everyone started. It was slow at first, but then it picked up. Ichigo noticed, though, that quite a few people had tears in their eyes now. And he knew they agreed with him._

"I miss her everyday." Hisana whispered. "Sometimes I forget, and I'll go to her room in the morning, to wake her up. But she isn't there. She'll never be there."

"She is." Ichigo said, his fingers playing around the letters on the gravestone. "She's everywhere now. With you. With me. With everyone she cared about. As long as we remember her, she'll be there."

Hisana smiled at this. "You're a deep boy, Kurosaki-kun." She sighed as she stood up. "I never thanked you, did I?"

"You don't have anything to thank me for." Ichigo muttered, standing up as well.

"Yes, I do." Hisana said simply. "Before the cancer, Rukia was an upbeat, happy girl. She was a lot like Hinamori-san, as a matter of fact ― she brought light with her anywhere she went. After she was diagnosed though…she changed. I think a lot of it had to do with keeping the secret. It became a full-time job, trying to hide everything, and it made Rukia grow up faster than she should have. But you, Kurosaki-kun…you brought that light back to her. You made her life better."

"It didn't save her."

"Oh I think it did." Hisana said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. The eyes that resembled Rukia's so. "I think it saved her more than you'll ever realize."

She rested a hand briefly on Ichigo's shoulder, and turned away. "Don't let her see you, Kurosaki-kun," the woman said over her shoulder, "if you can't smile just once."

Ichigo blinked. "My dad said the same thing to me once. On one of the anniversary's of my mom's death."

"Isshin always was smarter than we gave him credit for." Hisana smiled and started to walk away. Ichigo looked back at the grave. And against everything in him, a smile, a small smile, played over his lips.

_Love you, Rukia. _He ran a hand over the stone. _Don't forget me, wherever you are. I know…I'll never forget you._

—_**The End**_—

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**Author's Note: **Never said this would be a happy ending…did I? /random tomato is thrown; ducks/ Okay, okay! I know, you all wanted a happy ending! I'm sorry, but I wanted to tie the seriousness of the story back at the end, and this just seemed like the best way to do it. Sorry. Oh, and for anyone that doesn't know, when a cancer patient is in remission, that means that the cancer ― in simplistic terms ― goes away. But the patient has to go back every year and get tested to make sure it doesn't come back. Just in case there's anyone that _doesn't _know (hey, it's possible…I didn't know what it meant either, until I heard it on a show…but then, I'm an idiot).

All riiiiiiiiight then. Time for the customary _ForeverSam's Sappy Corner. _This is the part where I thank everyone who has supported me through my story, which is, of course, all my reviewers, who encouraged me to keep going even when the story completely sucked. So thank you all so much! You're all the absolute bestest (yea, that's a word…now). And an extremely special thanks to **Zapenbit_s_**_, _who's loyally stuck with me and my ridiculous-ness through every story I've written so far, and never has anything but kind things to say. Thanks Zappy!

Sorry I couldn't give everyone the happy ending they wanted...trust me, I kind of wanted one too, but...this is just how it worked out. Review? - Sam


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